


Born To Be Forsaken

by TangentTwo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Assassination, Gen, Subterfuge, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-07-20 07:20:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 94,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16132397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TangentTwo/pseuds/TangentTwo
Summary: Snakes, a creature hated by those in the Land of Fire, cursed by those in Konohagakure. So what will happen when a Clan known for its snake partners allows a boy from its ranks to make the journey to Konoha? Will he find acceptance despite their hatred or, like the rest of Fire, will they despise him for his use of snakes? Trigger Warning. Expected Slow Burn.





	1. Chapter I

A/N Welcome those of Ao3, Two here of TangentTeam... though thinking of it you probably have no fucking clue who I am... What a bummer for you, eh? Well, to make it short and sweet, I'm an author who mostly posts of FanFiction but a friend told me I should post it here... so here it is. Enjoy. Peace Fuckers - Two

* * *

 

Village in the north of the Land of Fire 23:30 | Saturday 15th Dec 7 aNb (After Naruto's Birth) | Land of Fire

Darkness stifles the Land of Fire as the moon nears the pinnacle of its arc. Its rays of light doing little to help anyone who wishes to see beyond their direct surroundings, only shinobi prosper in such environments. The village itself is silent and devoid of life with all its inhabitants asleep, yet a small residence on the outskirts bustles with life. A small clan which for the past four years have called this village home, yet not without issues from the locals. Not many are open to a clan whose members each have their own snake partners and are all abound with chakra. Though none among the clan cares about such pitiful disregard for them as they have their own issues, the biggest being considered missing-nin but most for their lack of loyalty to any shinobi village.

Tonight, however, will change that fact as the youngest member of the clan is ready to leave their makeshift home. The first of his clan to ever want to join a ninja village, to use his skills for good, even if they pale in comparison to most because his training all focused on his clan's specialities. Though even with that he intends to leave and end the stigma of his clan.

A small boy enters the main hall of his clans residence, walking past each member who chose to be present for this occasion. His snake partner draped over his shoulders with it's head poking out past his right ear and it's tail wrapped around his left arm. The black snake's beady eyes are all the immediately noticeable by those outside of his clan, such as a few of his clan mates wives and husbands. They boys clothes are all dark, with only his white hair and golden eyes that are even remotely bright. A black plain shirt rests under his rather large black overcoat, which sleeves hang lower than his hands with slits in the sides. The overcoat has red accents on the collar, sleeve ends and the zipper on the front, mirroring his clans elected colours. The biggest thing that stands out from the boy is his elongated canines, mirroring a snakes fangs much like the rest of his clan.

Each clan member looks at the boy with mixed emotions, some worry for the young man who knows nothing outside of their clan. Others prideful at doing something they wished they had done themselves, those, in particular, holding gifts for the boy when the event is over. The leader of the clan sits at the back of the hall, on an embellished chair waiting for him to be approached. The boy takes his time, knowing this may well be the last time he ever sees his family, he stops just short of the clan head as he takes one last look around before locking eyes with his clan head.

The clan head dons an onyx black yukata with golden accents and a single golden sash around his waist. His sandals are the same as the boys, only accented with gold as well as the simple black on the base. Over his yukata is a long sleeved haori with the clan's symbol, a three-pronged swirl, on his right arm.

"Rakuyama Kaii, am I correct in saying you wish to go to Konohagakure to study as a shinobi?" The older man asks, stroking his ageing grey beard as he does so.

The boy holds his gaze with his clan heads, though he begins to shake with nerves. "Y-yes Koshiro-sama, I-I want to go places without being shunned. I w-want to be apart of something bigger than our c-clan."

"A noble cause, young one. How does your partner, Yuta, feel about your decision?" Koshiro forwards the matter, as he own partner slithers his way onto the man's chair, leaning on the back with his head facing forward.

The black snake hisses, in what everyone present knows to be agreeance of his master's words. "He wants to join me on my j-journey." Kaii nervously answers, his hands trying to find something to do.

The elder man smiles, standing from his position and shifting to his young clan mates front. "Then go Kaii, make us proud." A smile beams from the man, as his partner, slithers off of the chair to his side to inspect the young Rakuyama, before hissing in agreeance to his master. "Even Zeshin agrees with me, but given your age, I shall be sending your mother with you. Go, talk to your clan mates before you ready yourself to leave, and always know I'll miss you Kaii."

"Thank you Koshiro-sama." Kaii bows deeply, a smile creeping onto his face as he does, he rights himself before speaks again. "Where is Okaa-san?" He takes another look at his surroundings noticing her absence.

The hall erupts into chattering, with each clan member present having an opinion on Kaii's decision to leave. Kaii, however, takes this time to look for his mother among the people in the hall, taking in everything he can about each of them. Not wanting to forget anything about them when he leaves. After five minutes of searching the hall, the large doors open slowly and a small woman slithers in accompanied by a large purple snake. She looks to Kaii, waving him over to her which the boy follows striding across the hall with Yuta in tow. He closes the distance with ease, only stopping once in front of her.

"Okaa-san, Koshiro-sama has granted my request." Kaii exclaims, barely able to contain his happiness. "He also said that you will be coming too."

The woman smiles warmly, patting her son on the head. "He did? That's great and we will leave in the morning. I have already packed all our things, so let's spend the rest of the night with our kin before we leave. I doubt they'll be given many chances to visit us." She sagely advises guiding him back into the hall.

The rest of the night is spent in enjoyment, with Kaii receiving gifts ranging from special kunai to seal paper. None knew what he wanted to learn so they just got him everything they could think a young shinobi would need to grow and become stronger. The gift Kaii seemingly appreciated the most is, two identical tantos, each created with snake-like embellishments and the finest steel Koshiro could afford. Once the night turns to day the hall is vacated, with Kaii and his mother gathering their things for the long journey to Konoha. The start of his life as a shinobi.

* * *

Rakuyama Residence 19:50 | Wednesday 6th Dec 12 aNb | Five Years later | Konohagakure

Kaii rests himself lazily on his bed, looking to the ceiling with a dejected expression with both hands crossed behind his head. His partner lounges on the windowsill, mirroring his masters expression though not that anyone would be able to read a snakes features. It is nearly the day that marks his fifth year in Konoha, the day he chose to leave his clans safety with only his mother, Yuta and his mother's partner in tow. Nothing had planned out as he expected. Even the large shinobi village held his clan in low regard, noting that anywho partner themselves with snakes as outsiders and are not wanted. Given what the Snake Sannin had done and continues to do, it isn't something he can change despite his best efforts. Kaii once upon a time was optimistic, but years of abuse from his peers and those above him led to a drastic change in his demeanor. He is jaded with the entire affair and at times even went as far as attempting to leave, but his mother always stopped him. Repeating the affirmation he made to his clan head, and that this is now his home.

The door to Kaii's room slowly ajars itself, not opening more than a few inches. He knows full well who is slithering they're way into his room, his mother's partner and Yuta's mother, Risa. She makes her way up onto his bed, halting once in view.

"Risa, what do you want?" Kaii questions, picking himself up off of his bed with his elbows, his eyes solely fixed onto the royal purple snake.

Risa hisses out her orders, snake tongue is something every Rakuyama can understand. "Your Okaa-san has prepared your dinner and requests your presence." Each S being dragged out as if intended.

The boy sighs, manoeuvring himself off of his bed, picking up his jacket with his left hand. "Alright, I'll be down in a minute." As the words leave his mouth the snake leaves his room as silently as she came, while Kaii slides on his black overcoat, now stopping just above his knees.

The black snake resting on the windowsill slithers from his position down onto the floor and eventually onto Kaii's back. From there he moves onto his favoured position on Kaii's shoulders, with his tail wrapped around his left arm, though now his tail stops when coiled just above Kaii's wrist. With his partner now situated firmly on his shoulders, Kaii ambles to his door, opening it softly, and slithering down the hallway then the stairs. A smell becomes extremely apparent to him as he gets closer to the kitchen, his favourite dish, miso ramen with roasted pork fillet.

With that smell taking over his mind, Kaii quickened his pace to the kitchen startling his partner in the process. In a second he reaches the kitchen door, opening it with a little bit of gusto gaining glares from both figures present in the room. His mother keeps her glare for a moment before going back to her cooking, while Risa continues to glare as an attempt to chastise the young Kaii, not that her attempts work anymore.

Though he feels no reasons to, Kaii concedes to Risa's gaze. "Sorry Okaa-san, I will remember to not open the door so hastily next time." He bows as he does so, sliding into his chair awaiting his food.

"As you should be, you'll break the door one day." His mother returns, turning on her heel with a fully prepared bowl of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet and sauntering to the table to place it in front of Kaii. "How was your day at the Academy?"

Even the food Kaii enjoys so much can't make him happy when the academy is mentioned. "It was, as it usually is, a huge waste of my time. No one would spar with me even with Iruka-san ordering them too, all because I, very much like that damned Inuzuka and their ninken, have a partner who is a snake." The mood in the room sours as his mother sits down with a dejected expression. "Why the hell can he have a partner and it be cute, while Yuta is hated so vehemently?"

His mother thinks hard on his words, he already knows why the village holds such disdain for them yet as a child it's still hard for him to grip. "You know why Kaii, and it'll never change unless you make it."

"A waste of time, Okaa-san, they never let me change their minds and they go out of their way to exclude me." Kaii's voice grows darker and bitterer with each word. "Once I'm a genin they'll see what I'm made of."

"I'm sure they will." His mother smiles warmly, trying to subdue the darkness taking ahold of her son as she soon tries to move the conversation on. "Have you been continuing the training Koshiro-sama gave you? You'll never grow stronger if you don't."

Kaii takes a deep breath before answering. "Yes Okaa-san, though it does interfere with my other training and is causing a gap to grow between myself and the others. When will I be able to lessen the amount I must do?"

"Once you can control it without my help, then you and only then can you stop performing the training Koshiro-sama gave you." His mother voices sternly albeit lovingly.

"I understand, Okaa-san, I'll just have to train harder at both." Kaii's mood improves rapidly before he picks up his chopsticks and thanks his mother for the meal, tucking into it with no room for breathing.

His mother grins at Kaii enjoying her food before asking a final question. "How long till the graduation?"

"Just over a month." Kaii returns in between bites of his ramen.

With that, they both go about their meals, with Kaii taking his leave to train once done with his favourite meal.

* * *

Konoha Academy 08:15 | Friday 8th Dec 12 aNb | Two Days Later | Konohagakure

The sun shines over Konoha as the classes at the Academy all begin to enter their respective classrooms. Kaii slithers in late, noting that none present even want to be sat near him let alone in the same room. With a callous look he clicks his tongue while looking at them while striding to the back of the room and rests on the only bench void of any students. Not because the class lacked them, but because they'd rather sit four to three other benches then sit with the outcast with a snake. Yuta shifts from his position on Kaii's shoulders to the desk, with his head facing to the front and locking his gaze with the shinobi at the front of the room.

The man in question stands at five foot eight and dons a deep scar across the bridge of his nose. His black eyes shift their gaze around the room before settling on Kaii, as he is the only one late to the class. The man's attire was the standard Chunin gear for each Konoha-nin with no exceptions, his hair is tied back in a ponytail while his headband sits around his head. The leaf symbol dead centre and polished perfectly. He wears a rather annoyed expression as he continues to look towards the outcast, before sighing.

"Why were you late this time Kaii?" The Chunin lets out, though its tone is dejected at his student's constant tardiness. "You were not woken? You had to help an old lady?"

At first, Kaii chooses to stay silent but after a minute of eerie silence, he speaks. "I don't have a reason Iruka-sensei, I chose to be late." His voice lacks any emotion or remorse, which his sensei notes with his expression changing from annoyance to slight worry.

"You'll never be able to pass if you choose to be late and ignore my lectures." Iruka sighs again but elects to move past it as it's nearly graduation and he really can't be fussed with Kaii's lack of enthusiasm. "Okay class, today we are going to be having a set of spars for your taijutsu test." The entire class recoils at an early test, all bar the gloomy kid Kaii knows as the 'Last Uchiha' and Kaii himself. "After that, we'll be focusing on the three pillars of the last test on graduation day."

The class resign themselves to their fate, but not before a lone member of the class at the front raises his hand to the sky. He waits for Iruka to finally notice him, before pulling himself from his seat and asking his sensei a question.

"Iruka-sensei, does one of us really have to fight him?" His finger lands in the direction of Kaii, cutting another wound into the young man furthering his bitterness for Konoha. "He's weird and I don't think any of us should have to go near him, let alone fight him." The boy reasons, as any child would with almost annoying honesty.

Iruka almost yells but stops himself right as the words attempted to leave his maw. "You'll fight whoever I assign you, no trades or questions. Kaii is as much a part of this class as the rest of you, and I think it's time you actually called him by his name."

For the first time in a while, Kaii is shocked. Never before has a single of his sensei ever said that he was a part of the class, most electing to ignore him. Not that it bothered him after a while, realising he's never been wanted, but with those few words apart of his bitterness fades. If Iruka is able to see him as apart of Konoha, others can be convinced too. The boy at the front, however, disagrees, taking an annoyed expression before following the class, who after Iruka answered the boy got up to go to the training field behind the academy.

Kaii waits for a few more minutes, first for Yuta to coil himself back around his shoulders, and second for the rest of the class to leave. His still not ready to walk near them if he can help it, one act of kindness even if it's an improvement, he holds firm in his beliefs. No one will change unless he makes them.

Once all the academy students line themselves up in front of Iruka, he starts to call out names from his clipboard. First is two students Kaii knows little to nothing about and finds them both uninteresting. They oppose each other before quickly locking themselves into a mediocre taijutsu battle, neither wanting to back down, both wanting to do good. Kaii slips into a stupor, missing the ending of the first fight and the ones that followed until Iruka calls out his name.

"Rakuyama Kaii, wake up you'll be fighting next." Iruka shouts at the dazed Kaii, which he is able to ignore.

What he is not able to ignore is Yuta constricting on his arm. "Hm? Yuta what the hell was that for?"

"You're up next master." Yuta hisses, scaring the majority of the class with ease and causing them to move further away from the boy.

"Did you catch who?" Kaii turns to face his partner with a tilted head.

"The young Akimichi." Yuta supplies with ease, coiling tighter on Kaii's arm.

The young Rakuyama sighs, but relents and makes his way to the opposite side of the field to the Akimichi. As he arrives the latter takes up his taijutsu stance, placing the bag of chips he so often eats into his pouch. Kaii remains out of his stance, inspecting the foe before him to determine which style would suit the moment. He notes the Akimichi remains largely open yet defended all at once, along side the known hiden the boy contains, Kaii readies himself in a stance he believes will suit the spar. He shifts his centre of mass to help make him agiler, both arms in front of him ready to block any attack, his feet positioned wide.

Iruka fells his arm, within seconds the Akimichi launches at Kaii with the ferocity of a bear, with a burning will easily seen in his eyes. Kaii focuses on his movements, already fully aware he can't win, but that doesn't mean he can't do well. The gap closes with the Akimichi already on top of Kaii, sending fist after fist at him with no pause resulting in a loss of ground. Twenty seconds pass, yet Kaii still finds himself at a loss, not a single opening could be exploited with his current level of skill. With the fight progressing, the other students begin to bicker about the outcome, all agreeing that the outcast will lose. Kaii clicks his tongue, knowing they are right he decides it's time for a rather unorthodox skill of his.

The Akimichi lets up for a second, thinking he's done enough, but as he does a swift kick takes his legs out from under him. Within a single moment, he finds himself on the floor with Kaii twirling around in the air, his foot poised to land in the Akimichi's gut. Seeing it coming, the larger boy rolls out of the way and flips back to his feet, immediately charging back at Kaii with his right arm now poised to strike a feirce blow. That one single attack sends both Yuta and Kaii flying into a nearby tree, leaving no room for a counter attack and Iruka to announce the bout over.

All present cheer at the Akimichi's win as he proceeds to pull out his bag of chips again, eating a few while sauntering back to his friends. Kaii slowly rises from the indentation in the tree, his back is deep pain with a small stream of blood seeping from the back of his head. Iruka makes his way over to him and kneels by his side, a bandage in hand.

"You did good Kaii, now put this on and get to the nurse's office." His sensei smiles, holding out the bandage.

Kaii nods, taking the bandage and applying it to the back of his head, letting the sharp pain of the gauze happen without wincing. With that done Iruka returns to his job, while Kaii picks himself up off of the ground, slithering his way back into the academy and into the nurse's office. The walk is solemn with Kaii deep inside his thoughts, noting he's not anywhere near as strong as he wants to be, but while he still has to perform the training his grandfather gave him there is little he can do. Yuta again is forced to break his partner out of his thoughts for the very fact they are at their destination, the nurse's office. He knocks once and waits for a reply from the inside, which after a few seconds he gets in the form of an acknowledging call.

He pushes the door inwards, sliding in and closing it just as quickly. "Iruka-sensei told me to come here to see to my back and head." He bows as he finishes, noting that some respect should be shown to the nurse, even if she doesn't return it.

"Oh, Kaii-san, well come here and let me look at it." Her words show little care for the boy's safety, only that her job dictates she does something. "How did it happen?" She questions as Kaii stops in front of her, turning to show her his back.

"Taijutsu test, the Akimichi hits harder than I thought." Kaii supplies easily and attempts to add some small talk, only for it to be ignored.

"You should be fine, I expect you've had worse. Just keep the bandage on for a few hours." With that she returns to her work, gesturing with her hand for him to leave her office.

Kaii is about to click his tongue at her, but Yuta stops him from doing so while whispering in his ears. "Let it go, Kaii, we'll prove them wrong soon enough."

"Fine, we're off to our usual spot to train, okay?" Kaii asks his snake, removing himself from the office and back down the halls to the front of the academy. "I don't want to return to that stupid 'test'."

Yuta hisses in agreeance while Kaii exits the building, leaping to a nearby room and taking the ninja highway to the nearest training ground. Though gaining looks from Konoha shinobi as he does, seeing as no academy student really takes the ninja highway.

* * *

Training Field 18 06:05 | Wednesday 27th Dec 12 aNb | Two Weeks Later | Konohagakure

Leaping from tree to tree eases Kaii's nerves as he, along with his mother, progress towards the training field in which they continue Koshiro's training. A rather complex seal suppression training session that the two must perform every day before Kaii goes to the academy. An arduous task, but also one that really tests Kaii's limits and if he's to ever become a strong shinobi, one he must master and fast. His mother, however, is more than ready for him to start performing the training alone, seeing as he will not be in the village every day with her while out on missions.

They both land in a small clearing in one of the more forested training fields inside of Konoha, with no one in their respective sensory ranges. A natural talent all members of the Rakuyama clan posses, linked with the training each member goes through as soon as they can train. Kaii drops to the floor, his legs crossed with both hands resting on his knees, once done he proceeds to take off his overcoat and top. His mother takes up a position directly behind him, placing a single hand onto his shoulder, as the other forms a half rat hand seal. A large amount of visible chakra engulfs the woman, a deep purple much like her snake partners. Kaii experiences the same reaction, the chakra a dark gray instead. The two respective chakras begins to intertwine where Kai's mothers hand lays upon Kaii's shoulder, funneling back into the boy. Or at least what it would seem to any watching on.

However, the chakra shown is entering one of the two seals on the back of Kaii's shoulders. One at each side, linking in the centre of his spine. The seal themselves are unlike any seals used by those interested in the field, they're complex yet simple at the same time. Years of usage has refined the seals into a unfamothable lock on each Rakuyama's person. The very reason for the seal unknown to the wider world.

After half an hour, the chakra fades from the clearing and Kaii speaks up. "It was quicker today, a good sign I hope Okaa-san?"

His mother shifts her hand from the first seal to the second. "It is, in fact, it shouldn't be long until you can do this yourself. I'm proud of you, it took me far longer." The latter she says with a genuine tone, but Kaii still thinks himself behind because of his somewhat lack of other skills.

"It's not enough, but it's a start." Kaii comments, mostly to himself as he enters into mediation.

The same process repeats for the second seal, taking just as long to finish as the first. Once over Kaii dresses, picks himself up and looks to his mother. She nods and the two vacate the field the same way they came, leaving no indication they were ever there.

Konoha Academy 07:50 | Friday 19th Jan 13 aNb | Three Weeks Later | Konohagakure

The day of the graduations has come, all students were early as none wanted to be late and be failed because of it. Not that they thought they would be but nobody's going to chance it, except for Kaii. As usual, he is in the training field with his mother, performing their training, which Kaii was late to rise for leading to being late to class. Iruka and a man of equal height with white shoulder length hair, lounge at the front of the academy, dead centre of the doors. Keeping watchful eyes on each of the students, checking to see if they had all turned up before entering.

Iruka starts the count which only takes him a moment, before realising one is missing. "Kaii is missing, or did I just count wrong? Mizuki-san can you do a count to check." He asks politely, thought you'd think he is asking for a lot more with the man's reaction.

With a scowl, the white-haired man counts the students. "That brat is always late, just leave him out. He can serve another six months in the academy to set him straight." The disdain is not hidden well but Iruka tries to ignore it.

"Well, as long as he arrives before the end of the tests we will have to test him regardless." The diplomatic response comes back from the brown-haired chunin. "Let's get inside then." With that, he cups a hand around one side of his mouth. "Alright, the tests shall begin now, everyone inside and to your usual classrooms."

Mizuki pushes the doors in then disappears deeper into the building, leaving Iruka to tend to the students. Something Iruka is glad for as his peer seems rather off today, but he doesn't have the time to worry about it. The students funnel into the academy and then to their respective classrooms, leaving the chunin alone outside for a few minutes before the bell rings.

Ten minutes pass with the bell just about to ring as a young boy clad in a black overcoat and a black object wrapped around his shoulder and left arm lands in front of Iruka. Kaii and Yuta, fresh from their morning routine and ready for the test. Something they both believe they are over prepared for with the last three weeks being filled with an extreme amount of training which his mother decided to preside over. Kaii rises and looks at Iruka, scratching the back of his head in disinterest.

"Huh, not late for a change." Iruka sassily mentions to the boy directly in front of him. "Get to the classroom, your test will not take long."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei." Kaii nods, sauntering into the academy and finding his classroom with ease.

With the door already open, he simply walks in, to be met with two large tables. One containing a classroom full of brand new headbands with Konoha's leaf on the front, the other with two chairs. Mizuki rests in one and the second is empty, Kaii immediately reasons that it's for Iruka and proceeds to ignore it and go to his bench. The chunin shouts an annoyed look to the outcast, something the rest of the class does as he passes each row on his way to the back.

'Not long and I'll have to work with two of these idiots… great.' Kaii thinks to himself, as he ponders on which one's, in particular, he'll have to endure.

Once in his seat, Iruka enters the classroom and takes a clipboard from the table where his peer is sitting. With that in hand, he calls the first name off of the list, which to his surprise is Kaii's.

"Rakuyama Kaii, you're up first seeing as you like to disappear halfway through tests." Iruka calls while reasoning. "Follow me and Mizuki-sensei into the next room for the test."

The class all tense up as Kaii lazily picks himself off of the bench he just got situated in, with a quick click of his tongue he walks back past each row stopping only once inside the next room and in front of another table. The chunin say nothing as they plop themselves down at the table, knowing Kaii will know the first of the jutsu to perform for the test. Kaii creates the clone hand seal and tenses his chakra coils. With a puff of smoke around him, three standard clones appear behind me, each near perfect. Without pause he moves onto the second jutsu, the henge. With a simple three hand seal preparation, he transforms himself into Iruka, but fails to replicate his voice. Something both chunin presume to be from slacking off. The last jutsu is more of a where did Kaii go, as he performs it without warning and substitutes himself with a chair at the edge of the room.

Throughout the entire test, Yuta never left Kaii's shoulders. First, when the clones were created, Yuta created his own clones to sit atop them. Secondly, when he changed to Iruka's form he simply sat on his shoulders in the exact same way, albeit he seemed smaller due to the chunin being bigger than Kaii. Iruka takes a few notes before standing.

"You pass, Kaii." Iruka smiles warmly, standing from his position and striding to the door. "Grab a headband on your way back to your seat… and make sure you don't leave while I'm not looking."

Kaii feels weird inside, but does his best to ignore them and stay stoic, following the chunin back into the classroom. Once through the door he makes a move straight for the headbands and takes one of the few ones with a black band instead of the far more common blue. The cloth as well in very unusual, as its at least twice as long on either side, perfect for placing it around the owners waist. Which Kaii does, letting it rest diagonally with one side hooked through a belt hole to keep it attached to him. Losing a hitai-ate is extremely bad as a shinobi, and Kaii would be damned if he let it happen even if the village is not held that high to him at the moment. Without letting the class react or Iruka speak, he simply saunters back to his seat and falls into a stupor.

The rest of the graduation goes by with little issues, everyone passes bar one. The boy in an orange jumpsuit and bright blond hair, which Kaii notes as something he expected from seeing how poor the boy's chakra control is. Though like himself the kid suffers from a real lack of friendship, yet he found some solace in becoming the class clown. Poking fun at anyone and anything just for a sliver of attention from at least one person. Kaii is often his target, not that he really holds it against him as even Kaii knows that an outcast is easy pickings. With that Iruka takes his place back in the centre of the room with a smile at all of his students.

"Starting today you are all genin, tomorrow you will be greeted by your new Jonin-sensei. You have the rest of the day off so make sure you arrive on time tomorrow." Iruka announces to everyone, at the last few words his gaze fixed onto Kaii. "You may all go now, well done."

All of those in the class pick themselves up and leave, each converting to different degrees while a few silently take their leave. Kaii stands with a yawn, stretching himself out before moving to the window. Kaii leaps out of the window and takes himself to training field 18 to focus on some more training in preparation for tomorrow. Iruka sighs to himself before turning to Mizuki.

"I swear that kid will never learn, just like Naruto but at least he can perform when needed." Iruka comments lightly clearing both of the tables.

Mizuki clicks his tongue while taking his leave, with a simple wave behind him to his peer. The brown haired shinobi tilts his head at the man, still not understanding what is wrong with him, but work comes first so he clears it from his mind and refocuses on his work. Though with Naruto's fourth failure, Iruka wonders to himself will he ever pass? Does he simply need a push in the right direction? He doesn't have the answers but he'll be sure to ask Hiruzen about it whenever he can. The Hokage knows things about him that most don't and while there he can also look more into the mysterious Kaii, who even after about five years of living in Konoha still seems like he just arrived. If not he's certainly sure whoever is assigned as his sensei will figure it out.


	2. Chapter II

Konoha Academy 12:20 | Saturday 20th Jan 13 aNb | The Next Day | Konohagakure

The academy is again, for the second day in a row bustling with life as the fresh genin appears for the orintion with their new sensei. A few parents still cling to their children, not wanting to let them go just yet to become the brutal killers they have been trained to be. Iruka stands in the same spot as he usually does, he clipboard in hand and a smile plastered on his face as he looks over his ex-students. Suspiciously missing, however, is Mizuki, the grey-haired chunin. Kaii from his perch in a tree overlooking the academy notes it, wondering if the lockdown last night has anything to do with it. The clang of a bell rings out and Kaii exits his thoughts, leaping down from the tree to the ground, all while gaining glares from the parents and students.

' _You'd think they'd have learned I don't give a fuck about their opinion of me._ ' Kaii comments to himself, pushing through the crowd to Iruka. "What room am I in?"

The cold tone causing Iruka to sigh. "Floor three room two, and can you at least try to hide your disdain for your teammates?" Iruka hit the nail on the head, much to Kaii's surprise.

"What do you mean 'disdain'?" Kaii feigns ignorance, trying to keep distance from the chunin.

"I know no one accepts you, and I know how it makes you feel, but one day they'll accept you. Just try." The scarred chunin wisely voices with a smile.

"I doubt it, no one will accept those who have snakes, all because of _him._ " Kaii bitterly seethes pushing past Iruka to go to the room he has been assigned.

Iruka tries to comfort Kaii but is given little chance as the latter is already long gone. The boy reminds him of himself, well of what could've been him if he hadn't become a class clown, yet Kaii wasn't even given the chance. Kaii wonders down the halls, noting each one more spartan than the last with no one present inside at all. He was early, however, he had expected to see at least a few chunin instructors or a few of the genin. They must all be outside still, he muses to no one climbing the stairs to the third floor where his Jonin-sensei should be. It takes only a couple of moments to find the room, knock and enter.

Lounging in the front row is a blonde kunoichi, wearing the standard Konoha Jonin attire. Her hair is tied in a high ponytail, he eyes ice blue and her features extremely feminine. She picks herself up once she notices his arrival, once up Kaii notes her headband is around her neck loosely, something he's only seen a few shinobi do. Even at Kaii's age he notices her figure and finds himself at a loss of words momentarily, thankfully she spoke first.

"So, I got snake boy." The Jonin comments to herself, walking up to Kaii. "Name's Nakano Iku, I'll be your Sensei for the foreseeable future… if you can pass my test."

Kaii regains his composure and realises how she addressed him. "It's Rakuyama Kaii, not snake boy, and this is my partner Yuta." He points to the black snake lazing on his shoulders, who hisses as he's mentioned.

"Ha, they said you were touchy, but I get it having a snake partner doesn't exactly make you a prime friend in Konoha." Iku laughs before acknowledging his plight, albeit half-heartedly. "When your teammates get here we'll get on with the introductions and whatnot. Oh and do me a favour kid, try to get on with them. I can't be doing with a bunch of kids bickering all the time."

"It's not me you'll find a problem with, it'll be them." Kaii argues, though he ultimately agrees with her.

With both having said their respective pieces, Kaii strides to the back of the classroom and relaxes on the bench. Iku returns to her own seat to await the two other members of her team. Silence takes a hold of the room for about eleven minutes before the two show up. Which prompts the Jonin to perform the same routine as she did with Kaii. The two boys stop when she gets up, choosing to wait for her to come to them.

The first of the two boys is about four foot eight with short red hair, spiked forward and vibrant blue eyes looking right at his new sensei. His dons a large green hoodie with the hood up, covering the back part of his hair, with a black shirt underneath. His lower half consists of black shinobi pants and blue shinobi sandals. The only thing that Kaii really takes note of is that the boy has his headband, like their new sensei, is around his neck.

The second boy is completely different, his eyes are void of any colour which makes him easily identifiable as a Hyuga. His medium length brown hair only adds credence to this, as it sits over his blue headband with curtain-like bangs. His clothing is also typical of a Hyuga, with his upper half being a white short sleeve kimono-shirt, while his lower being black shinobi pants and black shinobi sandals. A black sash around his waist keeps the kimono shut, while also holding onto his pouch.

"A Hyuga and a civilian shinobi? Well this just got interesting." Iku says to herself, with both boys stewing until she talks to them. "Right, name's Nakano Iku, and I'll be your sensei if you pass my test."

The Hyuga pipes up first. "Iku-sensei, I believe we are missing our third teammate, shouldn't we wait for them before we proceed to the test?" The boy's overly formal tone urks Kaii as he watches from the back. "Also my name is, Hyuga Kaneto, pleased to meet you." He bows as he finishes, showing a great deal of respect already.

"Yeah, shouldn't we wait?" The other boy agrees, scratching the back of his head. "I mean I really want to get it over with but it's only fair, right? Oh, and I'm Ishigaki Taisuke."

"You two are surprisingly unobservant for shinobi… He's up there." Iku sounds somewhat disappointed that the Hyuga didn't even notice him, being a natural sensor and what not.

The boys follow her words, finding Kaii and immediately beginning to complain that they were saddled with the outcast. How it's not fair that they have to be near someone who'd even think of using snakes inside of Konoha after that _man_. Iku just runs a hand over her face, not really wanting to deal with two moaning genin.

"All right you whining asses, he's your teammate whether you like it or not. You'll work with him or you'll fail, and I don't mean the back to academy fail. I mean you're unfit to be shinobi fail." Those cutting words shut both the Hyuga and Ishigaki up instantly. "Understood?"

"Yes, Iku-sensei." They chirp in unison, looking over to their new teammate, trying to hide their annoyance.

"Good, well the test is not until tomorrow, so do whatever until then, but remember to be at training field 27 by 7 am" Iku states turning and sauntering to the back of the class. "You, however, are coming with me."

Kaii sits confused for a moment, she hadn't said when the test would be but she's completely skipping the wider introductions. On top of that she wants him to go somewhere with her, which apparently doesn't pertain to the test or the other two would be coming. What purpose this will fulfil can only be left to his imagination, until they arrive wherever they are going or she tells him.

The two boys look confused as they watch both the outcast and Iku leave through the windows, the pair not knowing what is happening. Though neither is happy about the situation they find themselves in, they concede that maybe their sensei is right. He is their teammate and if they don't work together they very well could die on a mission in the future. However, neither also wants to be close to anyone who has a snake, fearing he could be like the Snake Sannin. They both push the thoughts away and leave the classroom together, conversing about random things.

* * *

Konoha Dango Shop 13:10 | Saturday 20th Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

Iku and Kaii stop atop the roofs opposite a shop is known for its sweet desserts and other things for those with a sweet tooth. The genin looks to his sensei with a confused face as they land on the ground next to it. He holds his questions in but is curious. In the last few weeks, two people have actually tried to make a connection with him even if it's in passing. He doesn't really know how to act but keeps his usual bitterness at the front of his mind.

They step under the flaps to enter the small shop. On the inside however it feels much larger, with a decent array of seats and tables to eat whatever you buy at and also a vast selection of goodies to purchase. Iku leads to a table and sits herself down, gesturing for Kaii to do the same, which he does. Although with a great deal of reluctance.

"Iku-sensei, erm… why are we here?" Kaii questions looking around, seeing nothing of use for a shinobi.

"We're here because you need to talk to someone who will understand the snake issue, who has first-hand experience with it." Iku explains calling over a waiter. "What do you want seeing as we are here until she arrives."

The waiter comes over straight away, pulling out a notepad and looking to both shinobi one at a time, waiting for one to give their order.

"Just a tea please." Kaii answers shyly, still completely lost on the reason they are here which is rare for him.

The waiter writes it down before looking to Iku for hers. "A tea for me too, oh and two plates of dangos." She smiles as she places her order, her internal cogs spinning as her plan begins to take shape.

The man finishes writing the order, smiling to the two before taking his leave to tend to the order itself. While they wait for Iku and Kaii both stay silent, Iku because she's waiting for her plan to kick in and Kaii because he really doesn't know what to think of everything happening at this second in time. After a while he begins to fiddle with his hands, conversing with Yuta and watching others enter and leave the shop. Five minutes pass and their order are now being given to them, with the two teas being placed down first. As the second plate of dango is about to be placed on the table, a young purple haired kunoichi enters the shop and locks eyes with the plate. Iku simply smiles as her trap has worked perfectly, seeing as she already knew the kunoichi would be on her way here.

The purple haired woman starts to saunter to the table, only stopping when seeing who is sat at the table. Her gaze locks with Iku's as she gulps, saliva starting to drip from her lips. The woman in question seemly has a sweet tooth, is what Kaii takes from the events unfolding in front of him, but of her importance to why he's here, still not clicking.

"Afternoon, Anko-san." Iku smiles slyly as she picks up the plate of dangos. "I knew you'd be coming by here, so I got you a plate, free of charge." With that the kunoichi changes her expression from 'I must have' to 'okay, what's it going to cost me'.

"Alright, what's your game Iku? You don't just buy people stuff without a good reason… oh who cares give me them!" As quickly as she changed her demeanor it changes back just as fast, grabbing the plate, pulling up another seat to the table and digging in. "So… damn… delicious!"

"Good Anko, now seeing as you're in my debt, this is Rakuyama Kaii and he's going to be your new apprentice if he passes my test tomorrow." The sly smile on Iku's face turning into a shit-eating grin.

Anko nearly chokes on her dangos when she hears the reveal of Iku's plan. Coughing for a good minute to clear her airwaves, and drinking a glass of water. She finds no words. Nothing to say as a reaction to what she's gotten herself into. She knew Iku had a plan and she still went right ahead and gave in too quick, her sweet tooth again getting her into another thing she doesn't really want to do.

"I really do hate you Iku, but fine. So why me anyway?" Anko with her now cleared throat asks, eating another dango.

Iku points to Yuta who has now moved from his position on Kaii's shoulder to the table to take one of Iku's dangos, though his movement was not unknown to the jonin. "This little fella is. He's Kaii's partner, and before you ask, yes like the Inuzuka's partnership with ninken."

"Clans like that exist? That's really interesting but I still don't see why I'm the one you came to, I mean wouldn't an Inuzuka be better with the partner dynamic?" Anko comments looking over both Kaii and then Yuta.

"Anko, use your head for a second. He has a snake partner, and you can summon..." Iku purposely leaves the end of her sentence off, hoping Anko will click.

The kunoichi does. "Snakes! Oh, I get it, but is that really it?"

"No, the other reason is that he's treated like dirt, all because of his relation with snakes. Something I think you'll understand, seeing how you were the genin of the person who created the stigma." Iku reveals the full reason for ambushing Anko.

Kaii looks to and from both Kunoichi, wondering if this Anko is really the Sanke Sannin's ex-genin, and on top of that could she help him fit in. A part of him he'd thought lost to his bitterness comes back to life, causing a smile to appear on his face, one that's genuine and not to appease his ever worrying mother. Yuta hearing the reasoning slithers back onto Kaii's shoulders, hissing into his ears his own thoughts. Kaii nods but says nothing to the two kunoichi, waiting for them to figure things out between themselves first.

"Tell me Iku, if you've not even passed him yet, why do you care what happens to him?" Anko offers up bluntly, not able to think of a reason to herself.

Iku takes a moment to think why, ahead of answering Anko's question. "Because if he is treated this way for much longer he could become just like the man you hate so much. Not something I find overlay fair, so I thought I'd do something. Getting you to train him when I'm not being the something."

"Have you cleared it with Hokage-sama? Because if not you'll have to before I can do it." Anko returns now done with her dangos.

"Yeah I know, but you can help him handle the stigma that comes with having a snake partner or from simply using snakes in any capacity until I talk to him." Iku agrees, planning to see the Hokage in her mind after she tests her team tomorrow.

Anko mulls over Iku's words for a brief moment, her face changing every few seconds from the emotions her memories, be it good or bad. "Alright, alright." She shifts her gaze from Iku to Kaii. "After you finish your test tomorrow, come find me at the academy, got it?"

Kaii thinks for a few moments, wondering what Anko's been through herself at the expense of the Snake Sannins legacy. "Yeah, I've got it Anko-sensei."

"Jeez, just call me Anko will ya?" Anko sighs, picking herself up from her seat. "And you, Iku, don't do this again!" With that she takes her leave mumbling curses at Iku's expense as she does.

Iku and Kaii both stay seated, allowing silence to take back over. The Jonin finally starts her tea, as does Kaii, taking only a few minutes before both are done. With their tea's done, Iku takes out her wallet while calling over the waiter with her overhand. The waiter sees it, sauntering over to her once he finishes another table's orders. Wiping his hands he comes over and presents the check to her, which she pays without hesitation. The man takes the money and leaves the two to their own business, thanking Iku for her patronage ahead of leaving. The Jonin soon stands from her chair, looking at Kaii like she's expecting him to mirror her action. He complies near instantly, following the woman as they both take their leave of the shop.

Both duck under the flaps at the entrance and stop once outside. "Alright kid, you know where you need to be tomorrow, so I expect you to be there on time."

"I will be Iku-sensei, and thank you for this." Kaii thanks his Sensei, though he doesn't really believe it will help he tries to stay optimistic.

"Thank me if it helps not before." With those few words, Iku disappears from sight with a body flicker.

Kaii, now alone, makes his own way to his most frequented training field to put in some extra training. Although he really just wants a way of thinking about the events that just happened without others around.

* * *

Training Field 27 07:00 | Sunday 21st Jan 13 aNb | The Next Day | Konohagakure

The sun's rays barely hit the ground through the trees this early in the morning, with all three of Iku's genin already stood in the centre of the forest awaiting their Jonin-sensei. Kaii keeps to himself as the Hyuga and Ishigaki converse amongst themselves. The tension between the two groups is palpable, almost hinting that one spark could set either side off on the other without warning. Before anything can come of it Iku drops down from a tree in front of the three, startling only the Ishigaki as both Kaii and the Hyuga expected as much. She takes a quick look at her genin, an inquisitive look as if she's trying to figure out what each one's strong suit would be. After a minute she stops, and address them.

"Alright you three, you all seem pretty incompatible at the moment so this test you're about to undergo will push you to your limits." Iku starts, hoping to get under the skin of the three. "Most Jonin-sensei try a gimmick for their test, I really can't be bothered to think of one so instead, come at me and try to kill me. If you can do that with conviction then I might pass you."

All three boys tense up as Iku enters a combat stance, low with her left side more towards the three, her left hand in front and her right hand behind her stance. The Hyuga is the first to react and enters his clans signature combat stance, the Gentle Fist style. One hand at its maximum reach with the other nearer the chest, his Byakugan now active and veins bulging on his temples. Kaii takes up a combat style next, drawing the two twelve inch long tanto's he was given many years ago by the head of his clan. He wields them in an icepick grip, holding both up in front of his chest with his arms crossed in an 'X'. His body sits with a low centre of gravity, making it easier to dodge and manoeuvre instead of the stalwart defence of the Gentle Fist. The Ishigaki is the last to slide into their combat stance, opting for the standard Konoha style, which unfortunately makes him very predictable. However, if all goes to Iku's plan, they should each cover the other's weaknesses.

From a quick overlook, Iku deduces that the Hyuga will be their main line of defence, due to the Byakugan. Not only great at holding the line but can repel those not ready for one of the three great dojutsu. Kaii seemingly fills the role of a flexible attacker and flanker, wielding a small blade as to not encumber himself and also to increase the speed of each attack. Those two things together creating the perfect 'in and out' attack before the opponent can even react. The last of them, however, is a mystery, his stance holds no clues yet from what she knows, every team is required to have a support-nin. So the real question is, is it him? Or has she read the three of them completely wrong?

With little warning the Hyuga takes point, launching right at Iku with his hands coated in blue chakra, his eyes focused solely on her chakra network. She stands her ground, digging her heels into the dirt as she dodges the first two attempts to block one of her tenketsu. The Hyuga continues undeterred, continually sending palms towards her, each one being either deflected or dodged. The two genin left watch intently, both creating plans of their own as they wait for an opening. However before one could be created, Kaii lunges at the due locked in a taijutsu brawl, with his tantos at his side. Once right next to the Hyuga, he leaps over the Jonin and Kaneto, beginning to slash at her rapidly, jumping to a new position after every couple of slashes. Iku easily dodges each of them, fighting two genin on two separate fronts is child's play for her, though fighting a Hyuga also makes things more complicated, seeing as she can't just ignore his hits. Unless she likes having her tenketsu locked.

The final genin continues to stay vigilant on the sideline. A minute passes before he finally acts, launching faster than both the genin before. Iku senses his movements, and while doing so lets a single hit of the Hyugas through which connects with her stomach with a fierce amount of force. The power of the Gentle Fist shuts her tenketsu down and halts all chakra from leaving it, causing Iku to recoil and feel slightly winded. This leads to another lapse in focus, allowing Kaii to land two strikes on her, one across her back which is deep but not overly so, the second on her side but luckily it is not as deep as the first. Blood begins to seep from the two wounds as the Ishigaki closes the last few feet, stopping right in front of her and kicking upwards, the bottom of his foot connecting with her chin. The accumulation of the attacks sends her flying into the tree line, with the three genin falling back. The Hyuga lands first, and the two others land behind him at either flank which without them realising shows a good understanding of the teamwork taught to them by the academy.

"Stay alert, I expect her to retaliate in the next few seconds." Kaneto states, his Byakugan attempting to find her within the forest. "She's coming!" His eyes dart to a single point in the ever encompassing forest, readying himself for the next fight.

Kaii and Taisuke do the same, with the latter pulling out a handful of shuriken and throwing them at the part of the forest the Hyuga is glaring at. Before they can even get a foot away from the boy, Iku appears in between the three genin, kick the Hyuga forward into a tree then proceeding to kick Kaii then Taisuke in their respective directions into trees. Iku, content with their showing sits herself on the ground and pulls out a book, reading it until all three genin get up and stride back to her.

"Alright you three, I'll admit I'm impressed, to say you don't get on at all you displayed some good teamwork." Iku praises the three, still reading the book. "So, you pass, well done Team 14."

Two of the genin plaster smiles on their faces at the news, however the Hyuga keeps his stoic features. "Does that mean we have to continue to work with the outcast? I don't believe my Clan will be overly pleased with it, if that is the case."

Kaii ready's to punch the boy across the field, but Iku cuts him off. "Yes it does, get used to it. I don't give a fuck what you clan 'likes' or is 'pleased with'. You'll do as I say, understood?"

"Yes, Sensei." Kaneto returns, though Kaii could sense his disdain he holds against him.

"Good, now get going, tomorrow we start training at 7 am and you'll have your first mission afterwards." Iku dismisses the three genin, returning to reading her book. "Oh, Kaii, please stay behind."

Kaneto and Taisuke look at the two for the second time, still not understanding why the outcast seemingly gets more attention then they do. They move it from their minds and do as they were told, not wanting to be kicked into another tree for disobeying their Sensei. To that they slowly saunter into the forest, talking about things typical of their age. Kaii sits down next to Iku, who elects to ignore him until she finishes with the chapter of her book. Half an hour passes before she actually puts down her book to look at Kaii.

"You did good today. Tell me, what do you think of your teammates now you've had a chance to fight together?" Iku questions genuinely, putting the book away to give him her whole attention.

"Taisuke at least seems to be a decent shinobi, but Kaneto is just a stuck up ass. The problem is they still think of me as an outsider, even after fighting together." Kaii explains his point of view, his bitterness coming back. "If that doesn't even help their opinion of me, what will?"

"Perhaps using Yuta in battle?" Iku suggests, noting the real lack of anything from the black snake.

"I would, but he's not really big enough yet. He should be soon enough, my clans snakes have very unusual growth patterns, so in a few months he should be nearly three meters long. Well if my Okaa-san is right." Kaii goes over all he's learned from his mother and clan books she keeps with her. "Oh, I have to get going, Anko-sensei will be annoyed if I'm late won't she?"

"Probably, so get going." Iku laughs, disappearing from the clearing in a puff of smoke.

Kaii nods to the cloud of smoke, picking himself up and leaping to the nearest tree to make his way to the academy.

* * *

Konoha Academy 09:25 | Sunday 21st Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

Kaii lands on the roof of the academy, looking over the village while maneuvering himself to a nearby window which leads to one of the many hallways. The sounds of many classes being taught ring through the halls as he saunters through each one, looking for the room Anko said she would be in. He stops for a second, his mind occupied with a thought.

'Wait, she didn't tell me whereabouts she would be, other than in the academy.' Kaii realises, dragging his hand across his face. "Well, it can't be that bad can it?" He then reassures himself, restarting his movement.

For ten minutes he searches in offices, gaining a few looks from the chunin inside of them, then he looks through classroom windows to see if she's teaching a class. Not that Kaii had seen her teach one, but you can never be too sure. After looking through the top three floors, he makes his way onto the last floor, the ground floor, and to his surprise, he instantly finds Anko talking to none other than Iruka. He elects to wait for them to finish ahead of approaching them, not wanting to get in the way, or finding out what they are talking about. While he waits he sits onto the bottom step of the stairs and begins his wait.

Kaii counts up to six minutes when the kunoichi breaks him out of his mind. "Hey kid, come on, we're going to… erm, what training field do you usually go to?"

"Training field 18 normally, why?" Kaii asks her, thinking they were going to do whatever she has planned right here.

"Right, then we are going there, that way we can talk alone." Anko grins, sauntering ahead of Kaii and down the hall.

Kaii sighs, picking himself up and following suit, quickly catching up before they leave the building. Opting for the ninja highway to take them to their destination. The rooftops pass them by pretty quickly, neither stopping for the briefest moment as they pass active shinobi on their way towards the edge of the village centre. The transition to tree is made easily by both, Kaii now a natural as he uses them to get everywhere. Time passes in silence with Anko leading them to a part of the training field with no one nearby. When she finds it she stops abruptly choosing to drop to the ground, which Kaii misses causing him to overshoot and have to travel back to her.

Once he gets to her, she starts. "Alright, so first, I need to know what problems you seem to be having. Can't help if I don't know can I?"

The Rakuyama thinks for a moment, he's never really spoken to anyone about it, other than his mother. "I don't know where to start. They treat me like an outcast, from the second they saw me. Even when I came here, they judged me simply because of Yuta. None even try to look past their prejudices at snakes."

"Right, so because of _him_ you find yourself at odds with everyone?" Anko looks for confirmation before proceeding.

"Yes." Kaii answers with a nod.

"Well crap, I can't really do anything other than say ignore them and buckle down." The kunoichi scratches the back of her head, thinking deeper on the issue. "I mean, I was his genin and I use snakes, and sure some people don't like me but I just continue to be myself."

"Simple to say, but unlike your snakes, mine is with me at all times. I can't just send him back to the summoning realm. Like an Inuzuka, he has to stay with me." Kaii explains, leading to Anko getting a glint in her eye.

"The Inuzuka can be away from their ninken, so tell me, why can't your snake leave you?" She reaches at whatever she could and hits a nerve.

"It's Yuta, and well because he can't." Kaii tries to push past the point, really not wanting to share the truth with her.

Anko simply smiles slyly, knowing exactly how to get him to tell her. "Well, I can't help you then, I'll go tell Iku-san you didn't want my help. I bet she'll be pretty annoyed that you didn't even try." She winks once done causing Kaii to sigh.

"Okay, he… he…. he helps keep my seals suppressed." The truth is hard for him to say, none has ever been told the Rakuyama clan secret before. "So if he leaves my side, I lose combat and general shinobi effectiveness so I can suppress them alone."

Anko closes the small distance between them and takes ahold of his shoulders. "What do the seals suppress?" The question lingers in Kaii's mind for a moment.

"I don't know. Odd I'll admit but my clan doesn't explain the seals use until we are considered strong enough to know." The answer doesn't sit well with Anko, the seals could be hiding anything but she can tell he's not lying.

"Well that definitely doesn't help us at all. If anyone knew about seals on your body, needless to say they'd treat you worse. It could be literally anything in their eyes." Anko sighs, letting go of Kaii. "Well I guess the best I can do is help you become stronger so you don't always need Yuta with you, hopefully we can do it soon."

"What sort of training do you have in mind? I'll already be training with Iku-sensei." Kaii asks, thinking that it's slightly weird to have two people training him, not that he would say that to them.

"Tell me, do you have a summoning contract? You seem to know about them and you assumed I used snakes in the same manner." Anko picked up on the slip of Kaii's tongue, though she's not sure he realised he even did it.

"Uh, I don't think so." Kaii looks to Yuta, who in turns shrugs, well not shrugs but the snake equivalent… a simple tilted head.

"Try." Anko orders, she knows the risk that comes with asking a genin to use a summoning jutsu, but something tells her he'll be fine.

Kaii, knowing the theory from the academy textbooks bites down hard onto his thumb after creating the correct hand seals somewhat slowly. Next, he slams his hand onto the ground. Instantly a flower-like seal sprawls across the ground, and a dense puff of smoke occurs, which when dissipated reveals a rather large white snake. The snake has gold eyes with black around them, what a human would call eyeliners, around them. Anko looks over it deeply, from its tail along its four-meter long body to its head. It doesn't change its gaze from Kaii, though it slightly bows it's head, a sure sign to Anko that he's a snake contract holder, though how he is without knowing is still a mystery.

' _So this is how he figures out he holds a contract._ ' Yuta hisses internally as he watches the snake fixate on Kaii.

Anko walks around the snake to Kaii's back, never taking her eyes off of the snake. A minute passes with all in the clearing embracing the eerie silence, all keeping the gaze with the other. Kaii breaks the trend, moving his hand out to the snake, holding the back to the snakes nostril.

"Has the standard greeting in Konoha changed so much?" The snake hisses aloud, to the surprise of Kaii, while Anko continues to observe. "Is there a reason you called for me, Summoner?"

"I'm a summoner?" Kaii repeats the title, lost in how he could ever be one.

"That you are, Rakuyama Kaii. I must admit I am surprised you didn't know before, I was told that Koshiro-san had told you." The snake converses like it's completely normal, which to Kaii it is, though Anko's no stranger to talking to her primary summon too.

"I haven't seen Koshiro-sama since I was seven… I don't understand." Kaii states to the snake, his eyes pleading for some answers.

"I had not expected this… I shall start from the beginning then." The snake stops before changing his focus to Anko. "However Anko-san I don't believe you are entitled to this information, only the Rakuyama Clan are privy."

Anko clicks her tongue. "Fine, I'll just go over there."

With that Anko disappears from sight in a puff of smoke, the three left continue to wait until they fully believe she's out of hearing range. With that the snake gets comfortable, coiling his tail into a circle and resting himself on his self.

"To start, I'll explain when you became a summoner for the Snakes. To put it simply, you've been once since your birth." The snake starts, allowing the news to sink in ahead of continuing. "Like the rest of your clan, you have a unique contract and bond with Ryuchi Cave. Every member has a contact from the day they are born, and it can never be broken. To that end, as long as I can remember your clan has also had snake partners, born alongside each member from their Okaa-san's own snake partner, and Otaa-san's if the former is not applicable."

Kaii attempts to respond but finds no words willing to leave his mouth. The new knowledge flowing through his mind so fast it can't comprehend anything else, not even a reply. The Snake waits patiently for his summoner to regain so form of composure so he can continue to explain the unique circumstances of the Rakuyama clan. When one fails to come, the Snake continues regardless.

"The seals you bear are also linked to this special bond we share, but that I cannot reveal to you yet." The snake finishes, not really helping Kaii understand the seals at all, but then again that wasn't why Anko had him summon the snake. "Oh, and better late then never, my name is Sekien."

"Sekien, thank you for telling me this, I guess you may leave? I can do that right?" Kaii questions, not really knowing how it works to be a summoner.

"Don't hesitate to summon me again." With that the snake disappears into the smoke he came from.

The clearing returns to silence with only Yuta and Kaii left. He looks around wondering where Anko had actually gone, though he still believes she is watching as she seemed too interested to go too far. So, while he waits he sits himself down and practises chakra control by trying to keep leaves attached to his forehead. By the time Anko returns he holds about six, with little effort. She looks at him, waiting for him to notice she's arrived when he does he lets the leaves fall and gets back to his feet. Though somewhat grogeraly, he hadn't taken notice but keeping Sekien summoned had taken a toll on his chakra reserves.

"Alright, well seeing as that's been dealt with, want to tell me what he said?" Anko inquires with a smile.

"Not yet, I still don't really understand myself. I need to go and see my Okaa-san and ask her, I'll see you tomorrow Anko-sensei and thank you for today." Kaii leaps to the tree without waiting for Anko's response, leaving her alone in the forest.

' _Well that was interesting, well I guess we'll have to finish what we started tomorrow'_ Anko thinks to herself as the lesson is cut short by Kaii's abrupt leaving.

She clicks her tongue again, but it couldn't be helped, he was just bombarded with a lot of information and needs to figure it out himself. With that, she leaves the field too, as she has more jobs to do at the Academy.

 


	3. Chapter III

Rakuyama Residence 10:40 | Sunday 21st Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

Kaii lands on the windowsill of his bedroom, opening it swiftly and entering with an untold amount of vigour. Eager to talk to his mother about what his snake summon had told him, and to hopefully find out what the seals themselves suppress. He closes the window with the same vigour, charging down the upstairs hall and nearly jumping down the stairs. He finds his mother cleaning the front room, with her snake partner, Risa, following behind her holding a large bag open.

"Kaii-chan? Shouldn't you be with your new Sensei? Or did you fail?" His mother asks as she turns to find her son stood ardently by her side.

"I passed, and we have the rest of the day to ourselves, training starts tomorrow at 7 am." Kaii respectfully answers, internally shaking from the prospect of the hidden knowledge he's sure she'll share. "Okaa-san, what do my seals suppress?" With that blunt question, his mother places her cleaning utensils onto the table and slides over to the couch and sits.

She pats on the space next to her and waits for Kaii to situate himself there. "What brought this on? You've never been interested before." She tries to answer the question herself in the brief moment of silence that followed.

"Well, Iku-sensei, my new Sensei, got a friend of hers to tutor me as well as herself. That sensei tried to help me with my snake and how the village sees him and me, to that end I mentioned that unlike her I can't just unsummon him." Kaii pauses to take a breath before continuing his long explanation. "After that she told me to perform the summoning jutsu seeing as I knew so much about it, or at the very least she could use it. I did, and Sekien popped up and told me about our clans unique bond, but couldn't tell me about the seals other than they are linked to the contract."

His mother sighs, she hadn't expected him to be so proactive when it came to his seals, on top of that she didn't think he'd be given a second sensei who has snakes herself. "It looks like you do know most of the information about our clan now don't you, but I still can't tell you about the seals Kaii-chan, you're not old enough. No, you're not strong enough yet, when you become Chunin, I'll tell you, as Koshiro-sama would of if he was here."

Kaii sighs, all of his motivation and eagerness leave his body with it. "Okay Okaa-san, I won't ask again until then." He tries to conjure a smile, but he can't help but be upset he's not strong enough to know.

"Don't look so down, Kaii-chan, I only said I couldn't tell you, but I can help you become stronger with the next stage of the training the Rakuyama undertake." His mother's words reignite the fire inside of the boy. "Normally we'd wait until your a chunin or strong enough to start it, but you're already ahead of most of the clan so I can make the exception."

"What type of training Okaa-san?" Kaii asks simply, the only thing he wants to know, other than when they'll start.

"It's a more intense form of training for seal suppression, that allows you to take over the seals on your body. At the moment you can only maintain them, but when you take control of them… well, that's when I can tell you what they do." With that she stands, with Risa in tow she leaves the house gesturing for her son to follow.

He does nearly cratering the chair with the amount of chakra he accidentally pushes out of his body to accelerate his form. The two make their way across the ninja highway, with Risa on his mother's shoulders, using a jutsu to make herself small enough to lay there. Kaii looks to Yuta, simply to ask if he can do it, which he nods. The rest of the journey is spent in silence, both thinking of the training but each holding a different perspective. Once inside of the field they both land in their favoured spot, with Kaii's mother looking around with her sensory skills to ensure no one is nearby.

"Okay, today I will be watching as you perform the training alone, if you need my help I'll jump in but if you want to know about the seals. You have to do this alone, for at least a month." With the goals laid out, Kaii sits onto the ground and forces his muted grey chakra out of his body. "Good, now focus on the seals and do what you normally do, but this time you must also do my part."

The rest of the day is spent with Kaii perform the training until he can no longer use his chakra or he'd face chakra exhaustion. His mother looks happy at the first day of training, but knows that it will take a toll on his other training. With that they both go about their day, the duo going home to rest for the rest of the day for Kaii's first day of training tomorrow.

* * *

Training Field 27 06:20 | Monday 22nd Jan 13 aNb | The Next Day | Konohagakure

The sun creaps over the horizon, lighting the training field with its bountiful golden rays. Kaii rests up on one of the tree branches overlooking the clearing in which he, along with his team, will receive their first lesson from their brand new sensei. Neither of his two teammates have arrived yet, but he knew they wouldn't be. He only just arrived from his morning training himself, letting himself regain some chakra before whatever Iku has in mind for them. It's a nice change of pace, as the last two days have been filled with lengthy training and learning more about his clan.

Around thirteen minutes pass by before another soul enters the clearing. The Hyuga, known for their punctuality, makes his way into the center of the space, letting the sun beat down on his face. Kaii knows that the boy knows he is here, a skill given to them by their Byakugan, but chooses to remain up in the tree. As far as the other knows, they don't share a single similarity, other than the want to be a shinobi. A further twenty seven minutes go by before the last of genin team enter the training field, scratching the back of his head with one hand, and his eyes the other.

"You are lucky to be on time, Taisuke-san." Kaneto voices to his friend, not moving a single muscle but keeping his eyes on Kaii's position up a tree.

"My alarm didn't go off, bite me." Taisuke moans while yawning deeply. "I'm lucky Kaa-san hadn't left for work yet."

"If you say so, Iku-sensei should be here any second I believe. She doesn't seem like the type to be late." The first boy declares, not giving any real emotion to his words.

"Yeah, I guess, can't say I really know what to think about her." The second boy returns, still in his morning wake up routine of yawning profusely. "Come to think of it where's… erm, what's his name again?"

"Rakuyama Kaii, and he's in the tree ahead of us, where I presume he's been since before I got here." Kaneto answers finally breaking his gaze with Kaii's chakra signature.

"Huh? He is?" Taisuke looks up to the tree itself, seeing nothing at all. "You sure?"

"Quite." Is all he gets in return from the Hyuga.

With that Iku appears in front of the two boys, saluting with two figures as she does so. Taisuke nearly falls over from the surprise alone, but just manages to keep himself stable, if not a little more adrenaline-filled than before. Iku looks at the two and opens her mouth to begin her lecture as KaiI leaps out of the tree to land beside the Hyuga and Ishigaki, with Yuta lying comfortably on his shoulders. Their sensei closes her mouth, her train of thought now broken as she seemingly was going to ask where he was. She takes a moment to move to the training.

"Alright, today's training is… cardio!" Iku feigns surprise with over the top cheering sounds. "So, get running, fifty laps around the field… and don't come back until you're done."

"Erm, Sensei, are we not learning a jutsu or something?" Taisuke questions, not really understanding why they need to train their cardio.

"That comes when I'm happy with your performances and think you're ready. Got it?" Iku replies simply, looking to the Hyuga who seemingly has a question. "What is it Kaneto?"

"Is this not what the academy trained us for? So we were ready to grow our arsenal once we received a Jonin-sensei?" He tries to reasons from the knowledge obtained at the academy.

Iku smiles, noting to herself at least he knows how to listen. "Once you graduate it's up to your Sensei what you learn and when, and I chose to grow you further first. I have my reasons now get going."

Kaneto smiles at her words, satisfied with her answer the two genin leap into the treeline to get to the edge of the field to start their laps. Kaii remains behind for a moment, sharing a look with his sensei as to ask if this is because he is slightly behind the rest. She doesn't give any answer so he joins the others at the edge of the training field. The first couple of laps are finished really quick, each of the genin leaning more to the blitz role as a shinobi. After ten laps Kaii begins to fall further behind, his lack of stamina and training begin to show, which angers the other two but they remain calm not wanting to show their disdain. Lap thirty is when Kaii nearly reaches his limit, slowing down considerably and becoming more prone to heavy breathing, causing an even further reduction in speed. As the last lap comes into his view, a sudden burst of speed comes over him. The want to finish the laps and be able to regain his composure as the others are doing.

Overall he finishes a few minutes behind the over as it takes the three around three hours to finish the fifty laps, all breathing heavily from the sheer amount of effort required to do that many laps at their age. Kaii leans himself against a tree, his breathing far harder then the rest of his teams, it is hard for him really do any sort of training to that level with the amount of training he missed because of his seals. The other two seemingly try to hide their fatigue, looking to Iku for the next part of their day's activities. She doesn't move from her perch on the tree until Kaii is stood next to his teammates.

"I guess we should get a mission then, let's get going." Iku jumps from the tree to the exit of the clearing, guesting for the three to follow.

* * *

Mission Desk 10:25 | Monday 22nd Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The academy bustles with activity as the newly formed Team 14 walks through the many halls. Kaii seemingly the only one not really understanding why they are at the academy, he never paid attention to all the ninja who came and went during his time at said academy. Iku lazies behind the three of them, pointing them in the right direction when necessary. After five minutes they find themselves outside of the mission room, with Iku now taking the front pushing the door open to reveal a single table with around five chunin sat on it. In the middle of them all is none of than, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage himself. He sees them enter but waits to address them until they are all stood neatly in a line.

"Iku-san, your team's first mission, eh? What sort of D-rank will you be going with?" Hiruzen says jovially, puffing on his pipe as he often wants to do.

The chunin continuing their jobs as the Hokage and one of his jonin have their conversation. Others enter the mission desk and talk to the chunin there, though the ones who come in are mostly chunin and as such don't really need to talk to Hiruzen. They just need to pick a mission and go.

"Erm, anything will do really Hokage-sama." Iku replies easily still keeping the respect for her Kage's title.

"Hm, well then how about a fence painting mission? There seems to be a lot of those today and it would be great to get them off of my desk." Hiruzen returns looking over the mission list, finding the respective scrolls.

"That'll do, make it the biggest job if you can." Iku confirms with a sly smile, knowing it's a good way to bond their team while she does nothing.

The three genin's faces drop as they hear their Sensei's words, the biggest job possible. Not only do they have to spend their first mission painting fences, a job anyone could do, especially civilians, they have to do the biggest of the lot. That could be anything from a manor to an entire district, and that fact alone sends shivers down their spines.

Hiruzen shares her sly look, changing his gaze to the chunin handling the bulk of the mission scrolls. After a minute the Chunin finds the biggest fence painting mission, to paint an entire districts fences, and hands to it to the Hokage. Who in turn looks over it quickly before shutting it and placing it at the edge of the table for Iku to pick up. The latter does and takes a few moments for herself to look over, her smile now taking a hold of the entire lower half of her face.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, we'll be back later today or tomorrow." Iku salutes with two fingers and bows, leading her team out of the mission room.

The entire table chuckle at the poor teams boring afternoon of fence painting ahead of them as their figures recede from sight until the doors shut behind them. Almost instantaneously the room go back to work and the day proceeds as it normally would. Much to the annoyance of Hiruzen, he misses the few chances during the day where he gets to enjoy himself instead of filling out countless files and paperwork.

* * *

Somewhere in the Civilian District 14:15 | Monday 22nd Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

Atop one of the many buildings in the larger of the civilian districts, are Team 14, each more annoyed then the last at the menial task before them. Kaneto most notably finds himself complaining over and over in his head, saying the work is beneath a Hyuga. Taisuke and Kaii moan at each new fence Iku leads them too, each time stifling a laugh at their expense. In the last four hours, only a quarter of the fencers they have been ordered to paint have been done, further annoying the three genin.

Iku pops up behind the three as they finish the last fence on the large manor. "Well done, follow me to the next building." A smile creeps its way onto her face as she announces this to her team. "If you keep up this pace we'll be done by midnight."

The three collective groan, though Kaneto's was inside of his mind as he is not one to openly complain to his Sensei. With that Iku launches herself to the next building, followed by the three. It takes them half an hour until they arrive at another rather large manor, which to the three genin, seems at least twice the size of the last one. Iku kneels down in front of the building, pulling out a simple storage scroll. Once unravelled on the ground, she places a single hand onto the center of the seal and pushes a small amount of chakra into the seal, which produces a puff of smoke. As it clears, it reveals a new set of paint and brushes which to the three genin seem nothing new, but with further inspection the amount of paint in the seal seemed too much for only the fence.

"Erm Sensei… why is there so much paint?" Taisuke questions, scratching the back of his head as he does so often. "That's at least four times the amount we need to finish the fences."

"Well, that's because it's for the entire manor… have fun." Without another word Iku disappears in a quick puff of chakra smoke.

Once the smoke dissipates, the genin all look to one another, for about a minute. None processing the information quickly, mostly because who would think that this would have been a part of the mission.

"Did she just say the entire manor?" Kaii sheepishly asks, gaining the attention of the other two genin.

"Quite, but I guess it can't be helped. If we work diligently and divvy up the manor into sections we should finish much quicker than before. Teamwork seems to be the key here." Kaneto dissects the mission to come up with a plan to make the work easier for the team.

"Sounds good, Kaneto-kun." Taisuke grabs a brush and bucket of paint, which he then holds out to Kaii. "I guess we should get along huh?" He smiles at the Rakuyama for the first time, as Kaii takes the paint and brush.

"I guess so." The sheepishness of his reply confuses the boy for a second before he realises what he said.

"Right, Kaneto-kun, you take the top floor, Kaii-san can take the second and I'll take the ground floor. Sound fair?" Taisuke quickly comes up with the way to divvy up the work, quicker than Kaneto which somewhat annoys the Hyuga.

The three agree and each begin to start their work, as Iku looks on from across the way from her hidden position in a tree. Another smile creeps onto her lips as her genin quickly grab the reason of the menial tasks as genin missions. To top it Kaii is being accepted, even if it's only slightly at least it's something and that alone should help the boy grow without becoming bitterer. With that she pulls out a book and waits for the three to finish with their work.

* * *

Konoha Academy 23:45 | Monday 22nd Jan 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

After a long day of fence painting, and the occasional manor painting, Team 14 walk tiredly into the Academy. Iku leads the way through the halls as she did when they took the mission, opening the doors to the mission desk and walking inside. Given that its late only a skeleton crew is manning the desks, two chunin, welcome them in and take the relevant evidence to note that they completed the mission. It only takes five minutes for the two to be satisfied with Team 14's evidence and to then pay out the reward for a mission well done. With that done the team leave the mission desk, with sheer luck running into Anko, who has spent the majority of the day looking for Kaii.

"There you are, did you forget about your training or something?" Anko quizzes her 'student' before looking at the three genin stood next to Iku, realising he's with his team. "Oh, you must have been on a mission, well you could've at least let me know, I've spent all day looking for you."

"Erm, Anko-sensei, I didn't know we'd be painting fences and manors all day." Kaii notes through gritted teeth, switching his glare from Anko to Iku towards the end.

"Well that sounds like it was your problem, come on we have training to do!" Anko declares marching past the four, grabbing Kaii by the collar to take him with her.

Taisuke and Kaneto look to their Sensei for an explanation, their emotions unsure of how to react to the revelation that just made itself known to them. Their teammate has a second Sensei. What did he do to deserve a second Sensei, and on top of that why don't they get one as well? Are they not good enough? Or are they simply so far ahead of Kaii that he needs a second round of training every day to catch up? No matter which it really is, a part of them resents the attention he is being given, whether he needs it or not.

Iku observes the cogs turn in each of her remaining genin, fearing their disdain for Kaii could be growing. This is not a meeting she had planned, nor one she wanted to occur at all, at least until they had formed a bond with Kaii, one that couldn't be broken by such petty means. Alas, it has happened and all she can do is try to curb its effects on her team before it grows into an uncontrollable fire of anger towards the Rakuyama.

"Gone on home you two, training is at seven as usual." Iku near orders, keeping her tone friendly, still watching the boys intently.

Taisuke is about to speak before Kaneto grabs him by the shoulder. "Don't Taisuke." With that said, he turns to Iku. "Of course Sensei, we will be there on time as usual."

Iku nods, electing to smile to hide her true feelings as the Hyuga finishes by pushing Taisuke down the hall, keeping his hand firmly on his shoulder, in what seems to be an act to keep their Sensei out of their conversing about the new information. Kaneto keeps his grip on his teammate until they reach the roof, letting go and waiting for him to turn to him and ask why he acted how he did.

"The hell was that for? Shouldn't we ask her and hear what she has to say before we make a rash decision?" Taisuke questions rubbing his shoulder, with a rather confused look on his face.

"No, we shouldn't, if she hasn't already told us then she wouldn't have told us later on. Not that it matters, as for some reason our 'teammate' is gaining extra training, which I think you'll agree is highly unfair." Kaneto reasons easily, playing his teammate's emotions as needed.

Taisuke tries to find a reason to disagree but can't find any. "Fine, you're right, but what can we do about it? We can't exactly go and ask Kaii can we? I doubt he would even tell us."

"We'll wait and see, if it turns out he has a good reason to keep it hidden, we'll forget about it. If he does not, then he can go back to being the outcast for all I care." The Hyuga's tone takes a sharp turn, one Taisuke doesn't like but can't help but agree with.

"I hate to admit it but you're right." Taisuke sighs, before they both make their way home for a good night sleep.

* * *

Training Field 18 00:20 | Tuesday 23rd Jan 13 aNb | The Next Day | Konohagakure

Anko lands in the small clearing with ease, her student flung over her shoulder so he couldn't get away. Kaii had evaded her answers the last time they trained, and she'll be damned if he thinks he can do it again. When Anko wants something she will get it… unless the aforementioned person who has the information has dango's, then they'll be fine. However, Kaii hasn't any one him and he'll have no chance to go and get some with Anko dropping him to the floor, and looking over him as he lays there.

"Get up, you know what I want to know." Anko demands, her usual niceties gone.

The boy concedes, pulling himself up to his feet and wiping his clothes down. He takes a moment to look around, before biting his thumb and perform the necessary hand seals for the summoning jutsu. He then slams his hand onto the ground with a great deal of force, unsettling the dirt as a flowery seal begins to weave into the ground ahead of producing a large puff of smoke. His personal summon, Sekien appears and bows his head to Kaii, before taking a moment to acclimate to his surrounding. The process only takes a moment, as his gaze locks with the female Kunoichi with a rather annoyed expression.

"Is there an issue, Kaii-san? I will happily take care of it for you." Sekien hisses deeply at Anko, baring his fangs for a moment to show his dedication to protecting Kaii.

Kaii elects to wait a second before replying. "Sekien-san, can you explain my clan's history to Anko-sensei for me?"

The large snake takes another moment to pull its aggression back, seeminling coughing into his hand… if a snake had one, it's more of a shake of their head. "Of course, Kaii-san. Is there anything you wish for me to leave out?"

"No, tell her everything you told me." Kaii smiles, jumping up to a nearby tree branch and proceeding to make himself comfortable. "Get me when you are done."

The Snake summon nods to his summoner and begins the tale of the Rakuyama clan to Anko, leaving no detail out. His explanation this time is far more detailed, as she is not a member of the clan and therefore needs more of the story to be told to her. All in all it takes the snake a good half hour to give the kunoichi the full story, one she pays full attention to, noting anything of interest to her. One thing takes her interest the most, the fact Kaii is naturally a snake contract holder. She's never heard of anything like it, and it goes much further than simply having a snake as a partner. In both a good way, for battles and taking on missions as he will have a vast array of resources, but also in a bad way, as anything to do with snakes in Fire, as Anko knows very well, can cause them to hated.

Another ten minutes of questions follow, which Sekien does his best to answer if able, though never telling more then he has told to his summoner. With Anko fully satisfied, Sekien simply takes his leave knowing the toll it will have taken on Kaii. The kunoichi, however, body flickers to the branch he rests on. Once next to him, she takes great pleasure in using her foot to kick Kaii off of the branch and watches as he plummets to the ground, hitting it with a hard thud.

He slowly rises, as groggy as he was the last time he summoned Sekien. "Was that really necessary Anko-sensei?"

"No, but that's your punishment for making me look all around the village for you, I have work you know!" Anko near enough whines at Kaii, dropping from the tree to his side. "Now that I know more about your clan I can help more, first thing we are going to do is..." She lets an air of suspense fill the silence before she continues. "Work on expanding your chakra control and see if we can fill your reserves so you can maintain a summon for longer. While we do that we can talk about how you are finding your genin team and how to maintain good relations with them."

"Erm, Anko-sensei, I'm not an idiot I know how to maintain a friendship, well, in theory. No one really gave me a chance to try." Kaii returns for the second time cleaning his clothes with a wipe. "When will we begin?"

"Tomorrow, it's late and I assume you have training early today? So get some rest." Anko smiles leaving the clearing with a wave and body flickers.

With that Kaii follows suit, leaping to a tree in the general direction of his home. He spends the next twenty minutes traversing the treeline with leisure, taking in the air and silence as he dwells on his thoughts. In a few days he went from a rather little amount of training to an overwhelming amount, each important to his growth and to help him change the general opinion of him. To change him from an outcast to… a shinobi they appreciate. Another five minutes and the tree's end, in favour of the rooftops of one of the civilian districts in which his home resides in. The journey over the roofs takes less then two minutes before he arrives at his window, which he swiftly opens and enters through, closing as silently as he opened it.

He slides onto his bed and just lays there, looking at the ceiling as Yuta slithers from his shoulders to his bed on the windowsill. Yuta had grown slightly but still nowhere near enough to be used as the Rakuyama clan would usually use their partners, but soon he should be. Just as Kaii is about to enter the dreamscape his door creaks open. He reacts by pulling out one of his special tanto's and entering a battle stance on his bed, though it is all for naught as it is only Risa, his mothers snake partner. The snake looks over Kaii, before taking her leave, letting the door close itself behind her. Kaii releases and again takes up his position on the bed after placing his tanto back into his sheathe.

'Well, that was a long day… here's to another.' Kaii voices internally as he lets his tiredness take ahold of him and push him into sleep.

Once his partner is fully into a deep slumber, Yuta takes the chance to slither his way over the bed and down to the floor and then finally to the door, opening it with his head. Outside rests Risa, glaring at the door and by proxy Yuta as the snake exits the room. His mother takes his presence as a sign that Kaii is asleep and leads the young snake down the stairs to Kaii's mother. They both slither onto the couch where she is currently sat, reading a book. She notices Risa and proceeds to close her book and look to the snake's with a expression of anticipation.

"How is Kaii doing Yuta-chan?" Kaii's mother questions, placing the book on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Yuta shifts his position from the couch onto the woman's shoulders, getting himself comfortable before answering. "He's doing fine. He summoned Sekien-san for the second time again today, and he was able to keep him here for nearly an hour. An improvement on the last time. His training is going well also, both with Iku-san and Anko-san, as each are focusing on different aspects of his arsenal. With Iku-san concentrating on his general shinobi abilities, while Anko-san directs her training to his chakra reserves and control. In tangent they should provide him with the tools to not only control the seals but open them indefinitely… in only a few months."

"Are you sure Yuta-kun?" Risa hisses at her son, surprised at Yuta's observations.

The black snake nods to his mother before returning his attention to his partner's mother. "I believe this may, however, cause friction with his teammates. Today they met Anko-san and were seemingly angry at the fact he has a second Sensei, but I don't really know if this is how they feel."

"Thank you Yuta-chan, please go back to Kaii, I will continue his training as planned. Hopefully he can grow as quickly as you have said, that will surely help him obtain the acceptance he so direly wants. Even if he must continue to hide his true self." The vagueness of her final statement is not lost on either snake as they Yuta takes his leave.

* * *

Training Field 18 06:00 | Friday 26th Jan 13 aNb | Three Days Later | Konohagakure

The small clearing frequented by the Rakuyama clan remains as empty as usual, apart from Kaii and his gray muted chakra enveloping him and his seals. His mother watches intently as he for the fifth day in a row is able to maintain the chakra control over his seals and keep them in complete check. With each minute he funnels chakra into them, he grows, and not slightly. He grows a great deal with chakra control more then any ninja who would do the leaf exercise for five times as long. Though that's not something the Rakuyama would openly admit as it would only add to the reasons to hate them. A clan with multiple advantages are rarely loved or even liked by many.

For half an hour Kaii keeps the flow of chakra constant, never letting it dip or grow. A perfect flow that most genin could only wish to have, however, this comes at a cost as Kaii starts to notice. In the three days since he began doing this alone before the day is even over, he begins to tire, and not simply tire but feel completely exhausted. Lucky for him, the missions and training he's been doing have not been strenuous, only painting fences and continuing to grow his teamwork.

Another fifteen minutes pass before he finally finishes, his chakra fading into his seals, feeling slightly tired already, though a quick meal should fix it. His mother looks him over, then looks to Yuta, nodding before moving over to her son's side in a few quick steps. Risa follows suit slithering next to her partner, keeping her eyes on her own son, as Kaii's mother looks to Kaii.

"Good job Kaii-chan, you are growing quickly, if you can keep this up until the next chunin exams, I'll explain the seals use." She lays out for her son, giving him something to work towards, seemingly going back on the fact she said she wouldn't tell him until he is a chunin.

"Do I have to enter the exams to be told? I thought you said I had to be a chunin to be told?" Kaii clarifies, not thinking he'll be ready for the exams but still wanting to know.

"Of course not, the exams are just a date I am using. The exam itself has no bearing on whether or not I explain to you, but I would hope you'd aim to enter with your team. Also, you're right I did say that, but I changed my mind, as long as you are strange enough I can tell you." She corrects herself with a smile filling Kaii with a great amount of energy to grow.

"I'll do my best Okaa-san." Kaii voices with resolve before releasing what the time is. "Crap, I have to go Okaa-san, or Iku-sensei will be mad."

He weaves to his mother as he leaps to a nearby tree, heading through the forest inside of Konoha to Training Field 27, for his second of three pieces of training of the day. Back at the field, his mother thinks to herself about his future and his rather rapid growth, even for a Rakyuama. She hopes it's not going to be an issue, but knowing how they are viewed within the village, this growth could be misconstrued as a lust for power, so she'll have to keep an eye on it herself to ensure her son's safety.

Risa disappears in a poof of smoke, to reappear on her partner's shoulder now far smaller then she was before. Kaii's mother smiles at her partner before she launches herself into the treeline and heads home.

 


	4. Chapter IV

Rakuyama Residence 21:00 | Sunday 11th Feb 13 aNb | Two Weeks later | Konohagakure

The windowsill to Kaii's bedroom slides open, to reveal a tired and worn out Kaii who after opening the window slithers into his room. He drops from the windowsill onto the floor, closing the window behind him, before allowing Yuta to take his leave from his shoulders. With his shoulders now clear he unzips his overcoat, sliding it off of his frame and throws it into the corner of them room. He then does the same with his top, to which falls atop the overcoat in the corner of his floor with only a mesh shirt left on. His upper body tingles as the cold air hits it, his sore muscles tensing involuntarily as it does. Even with the window closed his room is cold, cold enough for his every breath to be shown via a small cloud of warm air.

He stands breathing slowly for a few minutes, letting his body rests slightly ahead of going down stairs for dinner. The minutes pass easily, and once he feels good enough, he strides over to his wardrobe and picks out a new top which he quickly puts on and shuts the wardrobe door. With that done he slithers out of his room and down the stairs to see his mother sat reading one of her many books, each coving some ninja topic though Kaii never took too much notice when it came to the books themselves. The second he comes into view she looks up at her son with a smile, his sore upper body open to her.

"Good evening Kaii-chan, you've been working hard haven't you." She states, placing her bookmark into the book and positions it on the coffee table.

He nods, taking a seat next to her and relaxes into the sofa. "Iku-sensei has us doing every type of menial labour she can find at the mission desk, and on top of that we are made to do at least thirty laps around the training field before hand. Then to top in all off, Anko-sensei forces me into doing chakra control training and reserve building training. So with my seal maintenance as well, I'd say I'm being worked to the bone."

"Oh well, you'll get used to it soon enough won't you? Now get the table ready, dinner will be ready in a minute." His mother pushes herself to her feet, moving to the kitchen.

"Okay Okaa-san, but how did you know I would be home so you could make dinner? I was expecting to wait." Kaii follows suit, picking himself up and moving to the kitchen or more aptly the dining room portion of the kitchen.

From across the room came the response. "I'm a sensor, Kaii-chan, you learnt about those in the academy correct?"

"Erm..." Kaii takes some time to delve into his mind as he lays the table to see if he can find the information from the academy. "Oh, a sensor is able to use their own chakra to detect others in an area around them who also contain chakra, am I right?"

"You're mostly right, Kaii-chan. A sensor is a shinobi capable to sense a person's chakra levels, any fluctuations and, if they have seen the chakra before, discern who the person is. There are, however, other ways to be a sensor, but this is the most common and also the one I come under." His mother furthers on Kaii's own answer, while simultaneously finishing off their dinner, Oyakodon.

The two go about finishing their respective tasks, which in all takes only a couple of minutes before they are both seated at the table with a piping hot bowl of Oyakodon in front of them. They say thanks for their meal and pick up their chopsticks, snapping them apart and tuck in. After a few mouthfuls Kaii stops, he's finally finished thinking on her explanation and a question has come to mind.

"Okaa-san, can I ask you a question?" Kaii questions, his mind focused on one particular thing he doesn't know, but really wants to know.

"What is it, Kaii-chan?" She returns, pausing herself why she waits for the query.

"How do I know if I'm a sensor or not?" The inquire comes, one that could very much make Kaii a more valuable ninja, if he is.

His mother takes time to think on the answer ahead of answering. "Well, that's kind of hard to answer, I think you'd know if you were by now." Kaii's expression sinks at the answer, he had thought as much but he still hoped for a chance. "However, there are some who don't find out until they are exposed to a great deal of chakra at once, but it's very rare."

Kaii's features perk up again, the latter of his mother's answer being the slither of hope he had wished for. The night continues on normally after that, with both finishing their meals and Kaii heading straight up to bed, ready for another long day. His mother, however, cleans up the kitchen and table placing everything back where it came from. Well she does Risa slithers into the kitchen with a interested look on her scaly face. Kaii's mother, now done, walks past her partner and back into the front room, retaking her place back on the sofa all while picking up her book. Risa follows suit moving up to the back of the sofa, getting comfortable before asking what she wants to ask.

"What did the young Kaii want to know? He looked rather pleased as he passed me on the stairs." Risa hisses out, her tongue popping out every few seconds.

Kaii's mother starts her book again, starting to read as she talks to her partner. "He wanted to know if he was a sensor, or at the very least if he can find out how to know if he is one."

"So he still hasn't gained enough control over the seals for it to seep through?" Risa queries with a tilted head, thinking he was progressing quick enough to find out.

"No he has, but it merely hasn't, as you said, seeped through. The rate at which he is gaining control over it is staggering, but he's tiring himself out and I'm worried he's going to accidentally allow the seals to let his true self through." Kaii's mother worriedly voices to Risa, never taking her eyes off of her book.

"Yuta-kun will keep the seal in line, he is always monitoring them for our, and Kaii's, sake." Risa consoles her partner, with the lettering smiling at the words.

The conversation dies out after that, with Risa electing to take a nap while Kaii's mother goes about reading her book in silence.

* * *

Hyuga Branch Residence 21:00 | Sunday 11th Feb 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The dimm street lights illuminate the entrance to the Hyuga clan's residences, with a huge gate situated at the front to signify the entry. Two guards flank the gateway while a third sits in the center, each equipped with the standard Konoha chunin attire and a simple ninjato strapped to their left side. Taisuke lazily strides up to the three of them, giving them a simple nod ahead of stopping. The guard in the center looks him over for a second before nodding back to the boy. He then turns around and pushes the gate inwards, allowing the boy passage.

"I assume you remember where to go to find Kaneto-san, right Ishigaki-san?" The guard's deep voice thunders, turning back to look Taisuke in the eyes.

"Yes, thank you Guard-san." Taisuke takes leave of his lazy attitude as he addresses the guard.

The guard smiles at the response and waits for Taisuke to pass him before pulling the gates closed. Taisuke pushes on deeper into the entire Hyuga clan's district, passing a few of the clan members as he does, bowing to each as a sign of respect. In all it only takes the boy about ten minutes to get from the gate to Kaneto's house in the district, as being a branch member meant you were further from the entrance and also at the very edges of the district. Not that any of them really minded that fact. Taisuke stops as he sees the form of Kaneto appear ahead of him, outside of one of the smaller residences, he usual stoic features still firmly on his face.

The two boys bow to one another when Taisuke gets closer to the Hyuga. The bow is quick and the two share a smile afterwards as Kaneto leads his friend into his home, taking his belongings from Taisuke as it is his duty to carry his stuff as the host. Kaneto's parents smile and welcome the Ishigaki to their home, taking a few minutes of their time to ask how he is and how his training has been going. With the pleasantries out of the way, the gesture for the boys to make their way to Kaneto's room, Kaeto's mother informing the two that dinner will be made within the hour to which they both grin to.

The short walk to the Hyuga's bedroom is taken with minimal conversation as Taisuke spends more of his attention on the hallways filled with art decor, and ornate weapons and armour of a time long gone. The wooden floorboards are polished immaculately and every piece of art is well maintained, which every time Taisuke lays his eyes on them he feels like he should pay more attention to cleaning his own room and equipment. Though he knows the Hyuga are meticulously which eases his soul at the thought of having to do more work than he wants to do. Kaneto smacks his friend on the arm, looking at him with his empty eyes.

"We are here, feel free to sit wherever." Kaneto gestures into his room with a warm, expressionless face.

Taisuke knew his friends tells and smiles. "Thank you Kaneto, but why'd you invite me over? I was here last night." With that he sees the Hyuga's expression change, he's hit a nerve.

Kaneto saunters to his desk and chair, turning the chair to face the bed before taking a seat and resting his elbows on his knees. He waits for Taisuke to take up his position on his bed as he is holding the door open, and the Hyuga wants the conversation to be private. The Ishigaki complies efficiently, he slides the paper and wood door shut with one motion and then proceeds to the bed where he rests himself.

"So what is it then?" Taisuke questions leaning back on the bed, using his arms to prop himself up.

"How do you feel about our teammate, Rakuyama Kaii? Not on the surface, but deep down." Kaneto supplies the query with a cold tone, his eyes locking onto Taisuke's and never moving.

A eerie silence grips the room, creating an almost hostile atmosphere simply from the Hyuga's words. Taisuke doesn't respond at first, not really knowing how to feel about Kaii. For a start the boy has never done anything to himself or Kaneto, yet like the rest of the village and Fire itself, he holds an unknown grudge against him. It could be the snake, but he knows he never experienced the evils of the Snake Sannin, and atop of that never really knew of the man other than what his parents told him. The Rakuyama's bitterness could be a factor, or the fact he is offered more but still Taisuke cannot pinpoint how he feels. Deep down, however, he still feels a deep hatred for the boy, but its not one he consciously recognises. It could be a part of the mob mentality, because one of his friends dislikes him, he too dislikes the boy. He just doesn't know.

"I don't know, but I feel like I have to hate him, he's an outcast after all." Taisuke honestly answers though he's not happy with the uncertainty which seemingly fuels the uncontrollable hatred.

"I understand and agree, he's an outcast, not wanted by us or our village. A stain on our already tarnished name since the experiments of the vile Sannin were uncovered. He only furthers the legend by simply existing and yet, with that in mind, he's given a second Sensei and treated better than either of us." KAneto rants with a harsh deep voice, his hands now arched together with his gaze burrowing into his friends. "What really bothers me is that when I ask for assistance from Iku-sensei, she brushes me off simply saying 'to ask one of my clan mates'. Yet Kaii is told anything he asks, it's infuriating."

"Now that you mention it, you're right. She near enough ignores us in favour of him, but I mean she does still look after us and guide our growth." The Ishigaki tries to reason, though even he doesn't fully believe his own words regarding his Sensei's actions.

"Bullshit! She only ever trains our stamina and aids in chakra reserve development through running laps! She's never once tried to teach us a jutsu or Taijutsu stance! Never! I bet she saves it all for that outcast!" For a moment Kaneto loses his self control and angrily blurts out his feelings, to which Taisuke slightly recoils but inwardly agrees.

Taisuke's mind challenges itself as he thinks of how to reply. On one part his friend is right, and even though it was from a lasp in self control he totally agrees that their Sensei could very well be doing the bare minimum when it comes to the whole team but teaches Kaii anything he asks for. Though he's not seen it happen, he cannot consciously push it from his mind as it is a possibility. The clincher is the second Sensei Kaii seemingly has, as Taisuke, when he questioned his family and a few ninja friends, that its extremely rare and almost unheard of for a fresh genin to have. On the other hand, Kaii's done nothing to them and he even outwardly seems to be trying to get to know them, while also attempting to ensure there's no tension on the team. Whether he knows it or not Kaii is failing.

The Ishigaki sighs, still completely lost on where to stand. "Kaneto, you're my friend, best friend in fact, so if you believe more than anything you are right then I'll side with you. But can we at least treat him alright until we get proof?"

"Thank you Taisuke, I too hold you above all my other friends. When it comes to Kaii I have no doubts he's up to something and that he's taking our sensei's attention by choice. I will look for proof as you have asked, but only to prove I am right, nothing more." The Hyuga concedes to his friends stipulations, calming himself down, his face visibly returning to the usual Hyuga stoicness. "I believe our dinner is about to be served, shall we go downstairs?"

As Kaneto makes the statement, the boys hear a middle aged woman shout up to them. The hyuga is right and their dinner is in fact ready, so both boys shed any unnecessary layers and Kaneto places his friend's bag onto his desk. They both elect to wear only a single top and shorts in Taisuke's case, while Kaneto elects for a white yukata, which is a summer kimono. With that done they leave their room and go about the rest of their night with the issue of the outcast finally settled now they are both on the same page. Kaneto's parents, both active shinobi, could hear the entire conversation but both elect to ignore it as just like any member of Konoha, they despise the outcast.

* * *

Training Field 27 07:00 | Monday 12th Feb 13 aNb | The Next Day | Konohagakure

Iku lands in the small clearing as she always does, exactly on time, and with her three genin all present. Kaii is up in his usual tree with the other two standing at its base, seemingly ignoring one another. She inwardly sighs, this is not hweo she expected them to be after almost a month, yet it cannot be helped. They are each very different when contrasted to the others, Kaii the anti-social outcast, Kaneto the Hyuga… that really explains itself and Taisuke the energetic one who sticks to the Hyuga like glue. With that Iku starts to think of what to do with them today, they've each grown and Kaii is finally at a point where is is what she expected from a genin. His body is finally up to the same standard as Taisuke and Kanteo's, lean and ready to learn jutsu. Even though there isn't the teamwork she wanted, she finds herself at a obstacle. She could teach them jutsu and hope they use them in tangent, or she could teach them taijutsu and let the teamwork fall into place.

Whichever she goes with comes with its own issues, jutsu being she'd need to know what affinity they posses, the taijutsu being the Hyuga already has his own style, his clans, so there's little she can do for him. Which she thinks could cause an issue, she's meant to teach them all and leaving one out is problematic. She spends a few minutes thinking about the issue as her genin, aware of her presence, wait to be spoken to and go about their own business.

"I got it!" Iku shouts out, looking at her genin with a massive smile. "Alright you three, what do you guys know about Bukijutsu?"

The two at the base of the tree look to one another. "Not much, other than the basics of shurikenjutsu and a small amount of kenjutsu." Kaneto supplies, with a nod from Taisuke.

"That sound about right Kaii?" Iku asks the last of the genin.

The last of the genin drops from his position on the branch, landing next to Taisuke, which causes an involuntary action in the latter and the Hyuga. The movement is not lost on the jonin or Kaii for that matter, but they both elect to ignore it.

"I practise my kenjutsu alone, but other than that nothing, Iku-sensei." The Rakuyama answers with ease.

"I thought as much, right then I'll be back in a few with every weapon I can find… okay, it might take slightly longer than a few, so just practise or something." With that Iku disappears from the clearing in a puff of white smoke.

The genin choose to go back to their own spots and start to train, Kaneto and Taisuke separate and start a spar while Kaii leaps back up to his tree branch, picking up a few of the leaves and placing them onto his forehead. They each continue their own training for the entire duration of Iku's absence, not uttering a single word to one another. Since his training with Anko, Kaii had been able to increase the amount of leaves he is able to hold on his forehead. So much so they were not just on his forehead but all over his face and neck, with his eyes, nose and mouth visible.

Over an hour passes before Iku reemerges from the same spot she left in, also in the same white chakra smoke. In her left hand is a small scroll, not dissimilar to any ordinary scroll, however, her scroll is a sealing scroll full of weaponry any ninja would need or want. From simple kunai to chokutos to kusarigama to a Suna warfan, each extremely clean, so much so they look as if they've never seen a days work or even a man's throat. She makes the process of retrieving the things from scroll near effortless while her genin form a line about two meters away from her, each somewhat eager to see the weapons and learn to use some of them. With a small injection of chakra into the scroll, a large puff of smoke fills the space in front of Iku, it now replaced with all of the weapons she was able to buy.

"Alright, these are all the weapons I could find on such short notice-" Iku begins before being cut off by Kaneto.

"If you prepared our training before hand maybe that wouldn't be an issue for you Iku-sensei." He smirks looking over all of the weapons with his stoic eyes.

"Shut it smart ass. As I was saying, these weapons are the ones which are commonly used by Konoha shinobi and for good measure a Suna warfan, which are used by those with Wind affinities to amplify their jutsu." The Jonin-sensei explains, pointing out the one weapon that no Konoha shinobi uses. "So, what do you guys want to try first?"

Taisuke is the first to answer with a great deal of energy behind his words. "What's that one?" His finger leads Iku's gaze to the sai, a dagger-like weapon with forward pointed prongs.

"Ah, a sai, not what I expected but it's a decent weapon. Primarily used defensively but is good for quick strikes to the solar plexus." Iku details with little real detail, but still getting the main purpose across to the genin.

"Cool, can you show me how to use them?" Taisuke wonders aloud, raring to train.

"Sure, after Kaneto picks one, and if Kaii wants to try something other than a tanto, I'll help he choose one first." Iku returns with a smile, changing her focus to Kaneto who is looking at nothing in particular. "Oi, you have to pick one, and hurry up about it."

The Hyuga takes an extraordinary amount of time, never able to focus on one in all of the time he looks over them. Iku sighs and decides to change her focus to Kaii, though he already has the two tantos with twelve inch blades, he seemingly takes a liking to the kusarigama. Or put simply an axe-sickle on a chain. A rather dangerous weapon, notably wielded by only a single shinobi in the elemental lands, not that the genin would know who.

"A fine choice Kaii, pick it up, but for the love of the Sage don't go overboard. It's primary use is to attack from a distance, disabling your foe with severing swings at their limbs. After that, the sickle can be used in close combat but your tantos would be better at that range." Iku gives a better explanation for the kusarigama, mostly because its far more common even though its only known to be used by Hanzo of Amegakure.

"Alright, I'll move deeper into the clearing to practice." Kaii chirps grabbing the weapon and leaps to the other side of the clearing with little effort.

Iku again changes her attention back to the still undecided Hyuga. "Oh come on, Kaneto, you've got to have at least one weapon in mind you'd want to try. What about the chakra blades, used somewhat like brass knuckles, or a bo perhaps?" Neither seemingly strikes a cord with the boy.

"Honestly Sensei, I have no interest in bukijutsu, so if you don't mind I'd rather practise my own taijutsu while they experiment. After you teach them how to wield their respect choices, could you spar with me?" Kaneto points out, moving from the array of weapons to another part of the clearing free of people.

"Sure kid, I'll be over as soon as I'm done with these two." Iku smiles while gesturing to Taisuke to pick up the sai's, which he does ahead of moving with Iku to the last free portion of the clearing.

For the rest of the morning and well through lunch, the three genin practised on their new weapons and their taijutsu styles. Iku watched vigilantly over all three to ensure they don't hurt themselves, or each other for that matter. As the sun begins its long descent from the top of the sky, the three genin line up in the center of the clearing after a sharp whistle from their Sensei. Both Taisuke and Kaii keep their weapons on hand, waiting for an order to place them with the rest, one that doesn't come. Iku saunters to the front of them, kneeling over the weapons which had not been cleared up yet and forcing her chakra into the seal still underneath. The weapons vanish in the same puff of smoke as they came. With the weapons now gone she picks herself back up and looks at her genin.

"Alright, get the thirty laps done and you can have the rest of the day off. We'll be doing this for the rest of the week, feel free to try any of the weapons I brought tomorrow, and Kaneto, that means you too. You can do taijutsu in your free time." Iku lays out the rest of the week, placing the seal scroll into her pouch. "Oh, Kaii and Taisuke, keep those weapons on you, you both seem to suit them extremely well."

Her team says nothing, simply choosing to go about their laps have they have been doing for nearly a month. Iku takes the time to think on how they took to their new weapons, well how Taisuke and Kaii took to the weapons. Though Kaneto's taijutsu is far better than she had expected from a Hyuga of his age, which will prove to be very useful for the teams first C-rank. Taisuke took to the sia with a great deal of interest, and while trying to use them it seemingly sat very well with his already reserved combat style, while also allowing for the quick strikes he favoured in the test. Kaii also took to the kusarigama extremely well, giving his bukijutsu style a ranged aspect he direly needed, while also keeping his style focused on speed rather than strength.

The laps take the team far less than Iku expected, and as they each arrive back at her front, she greets them warmly. After the last lands she gives them a two fingered salute and disappears into a chakra smoke, leaving the team to their own devices. Kaii on instincts leaves without talking to the other two, while they scoff at his expense before taking their own leave.

* * *

Konoha Academy 18:20 | Monday 12th Feb 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The day is over at the academy, but for most Chunin there it's only just begun. The mission desk is at its busiest after the academy gets out, with more chunin free to work on the mission desk. Kaii enters through the roof as he usually does, his new routine to make sure Anko knows where he will be so she doesn't go looking through the entire village for him. Which normally results in him getting thrown off of a tree when he least expects it. He proceeds to the second floor, walking through the hallway until he arrives at the only room he knows Anko uses, however, the reason she only uses this one is still lost on him. He stops when in front of it, knocking once before moving to the side and leaning on the wall. Yuta and Kaii both converse about their day before Iruka slides open the door, looking at Kaii with a somewhat confused look. Kaii, however keeps his usual emotionless expression.

"Kaii? What brings you here this late?" Iruka questions striding out of the office, so he is stood opposite of Kaii.

"I'm here for Anko-sensei, she said she would be here waiting for me." Kaii quickly informs his old Sensei, standing straight off of the wall.

"Huh, did she? Well, she's not been here for a few hours, and I honestly have no clue where she is. Sorry, Kaii." The chunin apologises, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, how are things going with… Iku-sensei was it?"

Kaii's expression changes, its rare for someone outside of Anko and Iku to ask how things are going. "Could be worse, though my teammates are stuck up assholes. Well the Hyuga is at least, the other is just a sheep to whatever Kaneto thinks and says. Iku-sensei is alright though, she roped Anko into helping me whenever I'm not on a mission or training with her."

"Ah, that explains why you are here for Anko-san, and why she had a rather displeased look when she left. I take it she got bored waiting for you to come around." The revelation causes Kaii to recoil in horror, an angry Anko means he's getting kicked out of a tree again.

"Well damn, I was looking forward to not being kick into or out of a tree in today's training. Short-lived dreams, anyway I best try and find her before she spends the rest of the day looking for me." Kaii does the signature salute his sensei does so often, charging down the hall and out of the window, landing on a nearby roof.

Kaii rolls out the landing, getting back to his feet with ease as he continues along the edge of the rooftops so he can see down to the ground below, on the off chance Anko is walking around instead of using the ninja highway. An hour passes and he has already surveyed a quarter of the village without finding his second Sensei. He presses on for another ten minutes before a thought conjures in the back of his mind, one that if right will save him from looking around the rest of the village. Anko could be at the Dango shop, which is only a district over.

Acting on that thought, Kaii stops abruptly twisting and contorting his entire body to change his direction without losing momentum. The rooftop tiles crater slightly from the dispersion of chakra from the boy, who is now already two rooftops over. Kaii passes a few shinobi on his way to the shop, each wondering what he is doing up there until the see his hitai-ate around his waist, an unusual place to wear one in their minds. The trip is short with the speed he gained from his rigours training with Iku, making the journey in only a couple of minutes. Once on the rooftop next to the Dango shop he attempts to stop abruptly, however, he finds that the speed he used torn down the remainder of his chakra reserves leaving none to help him stop.

The real tragedy is that without any leftover chakra he finds himself hurtling through the air towards the front of the shop. He closes his eyes, accepting his fate of crashing into the store and the obvious fact he will have to pay for the damages. After only a second he feels his entire back hit something, though it isn't hard like he had expected, in fact its soft and his head lands between two rather large soft bumps. Just like that he stops moving, and what he can only describe as arms wrap around him, as he and whatever has ahold of him land on the ground.

"Jeez Kaii, first I have to look all over for you which made me hungry, and then second you end up crashing into my chest because you didn't pay attention to your chakra reserves." Anko chastises her pupil while simultaneously dropping him. "You know what it means to make me come looking for you, right?"

Kaii hits the ground hard with a chirp of pain, sighing while he props himself up. "God... dammit, you said you'd… you'd be at the academy! Also... how was crashing in… into you my fault? You jumped up... to grab me! I was content with hitting... the shop." He stops himself every few words to get his breath back.

"Doesn't matter, you still did it, there for your going from or into a tree, we'll see which when we get to the training field. Oh, and today we are going to expand your snake summons via a seal I was taught to create, well I'll still need Sekien's approval but I doubt he'll say no." Anko's unusual teaching style kicking in, blurring the lines of her annoyance at Kaii with the want to teach him.

"Okay… how and what... does it do?" Kaii questions, pulling himself up using the wall he was meant to crash into.

"I'll explain on the way, come on." Anko leaps up to the rooftops with her apprentice in tow, leading the way to the training ground they frequent.

The two, both so used to the journey, make the trip with little effort and arrive at the clearing in record time. Kaii, still feeling groggy from the lake of chakra immediately drops to the floor, leaning back to use his arms as rests. Anko looks over the boy, shuffling her right hand inside of her belt pouch to retrieve a small ball of cloth. She opens up the ball to reveal three black coloured balls, which of the three she takes one and strides over to Kaii, holding it out to him with a smile.

"The hells… that?" Kaii questions, looking to his sensei while he holds out his hand.

"Just bloody take it, it'll give you some chakra back." Anko orders dropping the black ball into Kaii palm. "Though it'll make you feel like shit in about..." She looks to the sky before continuing. "Five hours, so we best get to work."

"Got it." Kaii throws the pill right into his maw without any further questions, which he immediately regrets as he facial expression changes to that of pure disgust. "That tastes like utter crap! What the hell is it made from?" While complaining all of his muscles feel relaxed and energised, the same with his chakra coils and mind. "Wait nevermind, I feel incredible!" Kaii jumps to his feet, ready for anything Anko could ask of him during their training.

"Well rice… vegetables, you know the usual… a few stimulants, not that it matters." Anko skirts around the ingredients. "Anyway, summon Sekien so we can proceed to the training."

Kaii ignores the list he asked for, opting to start the hand seals for the summoning jutsu which he finishes with ease, biting his thumb and then slamming it onto the ground. The usual floral pattern takes over the ground, followed by a large puff of chakra smoke. Sekien slithers out to bow to his summoner, next he turns to Anko and does the same.

"Summoner, Anko-san, how can I help you both today?" The giant white snake questions, his tongue popping out every few seconds.

"Anko said she needed to ask your approval of some training." Kaii informs his primary summon, which his Sensei takes as the cue to move past him.

"Alright Sekien, I want to teach Kaii how to use the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands jutsu, so for that, I need to create the special summoning seals and place them on his wrists. First, however, I need your approval to do so." Anko asks for permission, already pulling out a seal set to create the seals… the only seal she knows how to make.

Sekien thinks for a moment watching as Anko takes out the seal set, and then to Kaii, sensing his chakra levels. "Of course you can, but Kaii please remember to use them wisely. They are your summons and just like we are bound to protect you, you are bound to protect us in return."

"I understand Sekien, I'll do the best I can." Kaii confirms, jumping up to a branch he normally uses to practise the leaf holding exercise.

"Well Sekien, I best get to creating the seals, they take an age, see ya." Anko follows Kaii up to the branch, but not before saying her goodbye to Sekien.

The large snake un-summons himself after the kunoichi left his side, electing to leave the two to the rigours task of creating the seals required for the jutsu. Anko takes the space opposite Kaii on the branch placing the seal kit in front of her and her student, which she then opens and takes out a seal brush ahead of opening the ink itself. Kaii waits for instructions as he's never done anything involving seals before, bar the occasional sealing scroll. His Sensei gestures to his right arm first, which he offers up to her and she accepts by taking ahold of his wrist and pulling his arm slightly closer. She then pushes his sleeve up to be able to create the seal.

The first seal took Anko over an hour, each line being crafted with a slow and meticulous drag of the brush. The seal slowly taking shape with each stroke, a snake-like seal coiling around his forearm with the end stretching to his wrist, where the negative space causes it to resemble a snake's head. The second takes about five minutes shorter, Anko already deep into her work, yet the seal suffers none and is as perfectly crafted as the first. The ink dries with little difficulty, not even staying wet for longer then a second once on Kaii's skin.

The Rakuyama looks over the seals, noting they cause a weird feeling deep inside, but at the same time share a feeling of untapped power. Just as he attempts to form the summoning jutsu again, Anko grabs his hand.

"No, that's not how you use those specific seals. Hold one of your arms to the side, and just like you would do for any jutsu, channel your chakra into the place you need it, in this instance your newly made seal. Once done, do what you would do with a summoning jutsu but just focus it on that arm." Anko explains carefully, knowing all too well the down sides of failing the jutsu.

"Okay, Anko-sensei." Kaii returns, doing exactly as she said.

Within a couple of seconds, the seal activates and a bunch of snakes slither out of the seal, each coiling around his arm and down towards his hand. Each snake resembles Yuta, a fact not lost on the black snake around Kaii's shoulders who looks on with a deep interest. Kaii nearly recoils in surprise at the use of the jutsu, though as he thinks of all the ways he could use the jutsu, Anko snaps him out of his mind.

"Right, it took longer then expected to make those seals, get home early before you crash, we'll work on this again tomorrow. So, for now, don't use this jutsu until you have better control over it." Anko comments, placing all of her supplies back into the seal kit and then back into her pouch. "Oh, and to send the snakes but just release the chakra from the seal."

Kaii does just that and the snakes disappear in the usual puff of smoke. "Thanks, Anko-sensei, I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, they both take their leave off of the tree branch and training field 18 itself, both electing to go home for the night. Kaii finds himself deep in conversation with Yuta on the way back, both talking about his new jutsu while thinking of ways to apply it to combat without placing the snakes that he summons into undue harm.

 


	5. Chapter V

Training Field 18 21:57 | Wednesday 28th Feb 13 aNb | Two Weeks Later | Konohagakure

Darkness looms over the training field as a Sensei and student oppose one another, each with their respective weapons drawn. The kunoichi chooses a kunai, whilst the shinobi takes pride in his dual tantos, each embellished and unique. Without another second passing, the two collide in the centre of the clearing, their weapons clashing causing sparks to fly and the sound of metal crashing together rattle throughout the air. For a good thirty-two seconds, the two trade blows, neither landing a single blow or graze on the other. The kunoichi electing to block each swift strike by the athletic shinobi, who finds his target no matter how much he must contort himself to hit it. Towards the end of the short spar, a swift kick to the shinobi's chest forces him to dodge by launching himself back towards the treeline.

He takes this opportunity to hide further in the trees, stalking his opponent as he waits for her to act, or an opening in her defence to present itself to him. On the shoulder of the shinobi is a black slender figure, that of a snake, whispering tactics into the ear of his apparent master, which the man takes. He leaps up into the treeline and lands on a sturdy branch, sheathing his two tantos and unsheathing a kusarigama from his back. The weapon itself is rather plain unlike his tantos, yet still extremely well made and the stamp of Konoha graces the blade itself. He wraps the long end of the chain around his right forearm, letting the rest of the chain hang loose as he readies his next move.

A few more seconds pass, and the kunoichi hasn't moved much to the annoyance of the shinobi poised in the treeline. That pushes the shinobi to act, as such he lets the kusarigama fall slightly out of his hand, the chain running through his hand slightly until the head of the sickle of the weapon itself is around a meter from his hand. Once ready, he starts to spin the weapon around allowing it to gather considerable speed ahead of launching it at his foe. The kunoichi, however, seemingly expecting the move, jumps backwards with ease as the kusarigama lodges itself in the ground where she once stood. The ninja up the tree curses and pulls hard on the chain, yanking himself out of the treeline and to the sickle of the weapon, pulling it out of the ground and again, throwing the main component at his target. Again it misses, but instead of letting it lodge itself in a tree or the ground again, he pulls hard on the chain and it finds itself back in his hand.

While the weapon flies through the air and back into the shinobi's hand, the kunoichi starts her counter-attack, sending a barrage of senbon at the man. Without any time to dodge, he takes the brunt of the attack with senbon impaling himself in his entire right side. Small amounts of blood starts to trickle down his side, as his target emerges from above him her kunai poised to strike at his throat. With little time, he brings up his kusarigama and attempts to block her attack. A failed effort with the kunai at his throat with little issues on her part.

"I win… again." The kunoichi proclaims, jumping back from the shinobi while sheathing her kunai. "I'll admit Kaii, you're getting better."

Kaii grunts in pain, placing his weapon back on his back before kneeling and goes about pulling out the senbon in his right arm and leg. "That's zero wins to me, twelve to you. How hard were you trying this time, Anko-sensei?"

"Erm… about ten percent I think… about that, yeah, but hey, you still did great for a genin!" Anko tries to reassure her student, who for the longest time was the weakest of his genin team but is making great strides to change that.

"Good enough I guess, though you did go overboard on the senbon again, as usual." The genin complains pulling out another four of his second Sensei's senbon. "I guess I need to get better at dodging them."

"That you do. I must admit I thought you'd try to use the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands jutsu against me, you've not tried a single time even though we put so much work into it when we're not sparing." Anko wonders aloud, watching Kaii pull out each of her projectiles with a decent amount of interest. "On top of that, I'm interested to know how you got noticeably stronger again?"

"A mixture of Iku-sensei's training, your training and gaining control over my seals. I've got to say I didn't expect to grow from my seal training." Kaii comments, now pulling out the last senbon with a quick groan. "Next time can you try to not lodge the senbon so deep into my arm and leg?"

"No promises, now scram, we've been out of here for four hours and I have other stuff to do." The kunoichi orders, disappearing from the plain in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

"Fucking show off." Kaii sighs outwardly picking himself up from his crouched position. "Right, I'd best get home, I'm damned tired and those stupid pills only make it worse."

Without another word, he leaps to the treeline and traverses the trees in the direction of his home. The journey, as it had every day since he started sparing with Anko, took what felt like an age before the district he lives in even came into view. The last two weeks had seen his training increase two-fold, both with Iku and Anko. From bukijutsu training and spars when training with Iku, of which he had won around six of the fights with his teammates, though the fights were only taijutsu based. The training with Anko is more on the 'real' side of the shinobi arsenal, with each bout having no restrictions other than lethal attacks.

His teammates were starting to realise he is growing much quicker than them, something that seemingly puts a strain on each mission they undertake. Each mission becoming a chore even when it's as simple as delivering a package or letter across the village. Their Sensei took notice but couldn't act without admitting Kaii is getting more training than the other two.

With her genin's straining relations not withholding, Iku is proud of her team and as such is planning to meet with the Hokage in the next few weeks. Firstly to recommend they be given their first C-rank mission, but also secondly because she wants to know a few things about Kaii she hasn't remembered to ask the boy himself. Mostly what his training with Anko is and how it's helping him grow so damn well.

* * *

Konoha Market District 14:23 | Wednesday 7th Mar 13 aNb | One Week Later | Konohagakure

The young Rakuyama finds himself in the market district of his village after a morning filled with bukijutsu training and the beginning of ninjutsu training. The main thing he learnt is that he posses, like the majority of shinobi in Konoha, a fire chakra affinity. The revelation wasn't a disappointment or anything really, as he always knew with enough training he could master a second, but that would be a few years away at his current level of strength.

He moves from stall to stall, looking at their wares, most of which are either food or tourist goods for those who come to Konoha for a visit. Though he thinks why would anyone want to come to a shinobi village for a vacation?

The purpose of Kaii's visit to the market district is for some new supplies for missions, and with his wages from the vast amount of D-rank missions he's finished, new equipment. The most important being a new pouch and set of clothes for when he's outside of the village. If he can, however, he wants a new kusarigama. The one Iku lent him is very good, amazing actually, but it's plain and he finds it doesn't look right when compared to his set of tantos and as such is going to find a weaponsmith to make him one to fit in.

An hour passes before he even finds the weaponsmith he had to ask a passerby for information on, and as it took so long to get there along the way he bought the new pouch and clothes. A black version of his normal one but with a stronger fabric and a mesh inside to ensure his supplies are safe. The clothes were simply the same as the ones he was already wearing, a semi-custom order which took about three low paid D-rank missions worth to afford, but like the pouch, they are made of a far stronger fabric. Once he stands outside of the weaponsmith shop, he takes in its architecture, being built like the rest of the shops with the living quarters being built above the shop itself and in the typical Konoha style.

With that in mind, he focuses on the reason he is here, the new weapon he wants to order and strides into the shop with one arm pushing the curtain at the front door out of the way. A tall man stands behind the small counter at the back of the shop, the rest is filled with tables and wall mounts each containing a large number of weapons. The large man in question looks over Kaii, ready to question why a boy is in his shop until he sees the hitai-ate around his waist.

"Ah, shinobi-san, how can my humble store help you today? A new weapon mayhaps? Or alternatively some kunai or shuriken? We have it all and if you can afford it we can forge you a custom weapon as well!" The brute of a man greets Kaii with a slight bow, listing his services with a cheery tone.

Kaii takes a moment to think, deciding on how to respond. "I… I would like to purchase a custom weapon."

The man takes another look at the boy, noticing the snake around his shoulder. "Hm, what did you have in mind? A ninjato? A chokuto? Or perhaps a bo?" His eyes never leave the snake, a slight amount of uneasiness slipping from him.

"Erm, a kusarigama." Kaii returns, unsheathing the sickle and chain weapon from his back and placing it on the desk. "Like this but with the same embellishments as my tantos if possible." Once the kusarigama is on the counter, he places his tanto on there too to show the snake features of the blade.

The apparent shop owner picks up the tanto, taking in every detail as he slowly and meticulously looks it over. "This is extremely well made, I'm surprised such a young shinobi could afford it and if this is what you want for the kusarigama. Well, it's not going to be cheap, especially if you want the same materials and level of craftsmanship."

"H-how expensive?" Kaii questions, looking the man in the eyes for the first time since he arrived.

"Well." The man takes a second to place the tanto back onto his counter, ahead of picking up the kusarigama. "At least a hundred thousand Ryo, but I can assure you it will be the same level of craftsmanship of your tantos. However, if that's a bit steep, you could help me out around the shop until you can afford it or maybe you would accept a lower quality version?"

The young Rakuyama thinks about it for a moment. The money the man is asking is everything he has left from his D-rank wages and the money he was given by his mother. He internally mulls it over, playing devil's advocate with himself before coming to a conclusion.

"I'll pay the full amount, but if the price goes up I'll have to accept the first alternative." Kaii sheepishly states, pushing his hand deep into his old pouch and pulling out all of his money which he then presents to the shopkeeper.

"Whoa, calm down there shinobi-san, you only need to pay for the materials at the moment the rest can be paid when it's done." The brute of a man raises placating hands, a smile forming on his face. "Thirty thousand will cover the materials, for now, the rest will pay for my man hours once it's done. Now, is there any particular way you'd like the weapon to be made?"

"The same as my tantos, colour and look will suffice. The rest can be the same as this kusarigama other than the colours." Kaii details, counting the amount of money the man asked for, placing it on the counter and putting the rest away.

The man looks over the tanto and kusarigama again, noting the rather grayscale colour pattern and materials used. The snake embellishments on the tanto's handle and at the very start of the blade next to the hilt, all a dark grey while the wrap on the handle is a mix of black and yellow. Each scale on the snake is clear and perfectly cut. The most ingenuitive feature is the fact the snake embellishments don't add much to the tanto, other than a small amount of excess materials but the weight is near nothing to the blade itself is black or at least very dark grey to help hide and create an unpredictable strike in bad lighting and at night. The shopkeeper then plans in his head the new weapon the boy just ordered, and how he can make it work while keeping it combat efficient and not an issue to the user.

"Right, I have the idea ready, I'll get to making it right away, thank you for your business shinobi-san." The shopkeeper keeps his smile on his face as he gestures to Kaii that he can take his weapons back. "Please come back in about a week for the weapon and to pay the rest of the bill."

Kaii does just that and sheathes both the tanto and the kusarigama in their respective sheaths, before bowing and taking his leave of the shop. As he pushes the curtain out of the way he hears the man let out a sigh of relief, from what he thinks is to do with the fact Yuta is coiled around his shoulders yet he never mentioned it. Ignoring it Kaii continues out of the shop and down the market street, towards the academy to meet up with Anko for his afternoon training sessions. First, however, he needs to fill up on food to refill his chakra reserves he used in his seal suppression and the training with Iku. He saunters down the street until he notices an orange jumpsuit-clad boy rant and rave about a ramen shop not far from where he currently is. Without waiting to hear anything else from the boy, he believes he recalls from his classes at the academy he makes his way to the shop in question, Ramen Ichiraku.

He makes short work of the walk itself, finding the ramen stand around a corner in one of the smaller streets inside of the market district. From the outside, it wasn't much, just a stand-like building, a single floor with the front entirely open with the upper half being hidden with curtains. As most shop fronts in the district are. Kaii ambles under the white and red curtains, pushing them up as to not touch his head. Behind the counter, which takes up the entire length of the store, are a rather old man and a young lady, only a few years older than himself. On the customer's side, is an extension of the counter with high chairs, for patrons to use when eating their ramen.

The older man places an uneasy smile onto his face as he looks to Kaii, not entirely happy the outcast he's heard about from other shinobi is at his store, but also feels a sense of pity for the boy's situation. The girl takes a harsher look as she gazes at the Rakuyama, not even trying to hide her annoyance at his appearance, but knows its not up to her who they serve. Also, he's a shinobi and is thus technically of a higher class than them.

"Er… Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku… I'm Teuchi, how can help you?" The older man announces, his smile becoming more genuine as Kaii responds.

"Erm, I don't know what you offer, I heard a boy in an orange jumpsuit say you had the best ramen and I wanted to try it myself." Kaii's face looks as clueless as he sounds, looking to the menu behind Teuchi.

"Ah, Naruto! Are you a friend of his?" All doubt inside of Teuchi disappears and he beams with his usual jovialness.

"I know of him, but I've never had a chance to get to know him." The young shinobi answers, sliding into a seat at the counter. "But if you know him so well, I'll just have what he usually has."

The ramen shopkeeper laughs as he orders his assistant to get to work on Naruto's 'usual'. "Well, you best be a hungry young man, because this is our largest bowl!"

"As long as it's filling I'll be fine." Kaii smiles shyly, keeping his head down and focused on the counter.

"Oh it's indeed filling, you'll find it's on par with those rations shinobi take on missions! Or so I'm told." Teuchi laughs off the statement as he turns to help out his assistance with Kaii's order.

The wait for his food is hard for the Rakuyama, the smells filling the air around him causing his mouth to salivate ferociously as he imagines his soon to be meal. He continues to watch as pork and eggs are being prepared separately at the back of the shop, each looks perfect and only further the newfound rumble in his stomach. Ten minutes pass before the bowl is presented to him, the top of the bowl covered in a deep steam as the fresh meal slowly grows colder. The ramen, as far as Kaii can tell, is an extra large portion of a miso ramen dish or at the very least a variant of it.

Kaii takes up the chopsticks which were placed next to the bowl, snapping the two away from the other. He then says thanks for the meal and digs in. The first mouthful is full of emotions and nutrients as he smiles deeply, the tastes all coming together perfectly while also making him feel refreshed. Each mouthful after sharing the exact same feelings and taste, no one mouthful better than the rest, a feat in of itself. The two behind the counter smile at their handy work, both glad they have another satisfied customer, even if the woman doesn't like him.

Kaii loses count of time as he picks up the bowl and slurps down the rest of the soup with the ramen and toppings all long gone. The broth too gone in a matter of seconds which is followed by the sound of the bowl slamming down on the counter.

A pleased chuckle comes from Teuchi as he moves to pick up the now empty bowl. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, shinobi-san."

"Enjoyed it doesn't really do it justice, Teuchi-san, it is the best food I've ever eaten!" Kaii for a single moment sheds his usual skeptic skin and acts himself.

Teuchi chuckles again while presenting the bill. "Here's your bill, or would you like another bowl first?"

"I would but I'm late as it is." Kaii returns, pulling out his money from his pouch, paying the bill and leaving a decent tip. "I'll be sure to come here again."

Kaii slides off of his chair and gives a quick bow before exiting the store the same way he entered. He makes a quick decision to leap to the nearby roof and bolt towards the academy as he has already taken far longer than he had expected, and Anko will soon come looking for him. He runs with great speed, using the energy he just got back from the ramen to increase his pace to a level he usual regrets after a long day. Five minutes pass before the academy comes into his sight, causing him to take longer jumps to make the journey shorter. Just as he is about to make another jump, a figure lands in front of him, creating the need to stop with little room. Kaii elects to unsheathe his kusarigama and intentionally fall to the ground, using the sickle to lodge itself into the roofing tiles underneath him to stop him faster

The figure laughs as he stops just slightly in front of her. "Well, at least you didn't run into me this time."

"Anko? You could've just ran alongside me, now whoever lives here has to fix their roof." Kaii comments, pulling the kusarigama out of the roof and sheathing it as he picks himself up from the ground.

"Enough complaining, to the training field we go!" Anko shoots off in the direction of their usual training field, which after wiping himself down, Kaii does also.

* * *

Training Field 18 16:11 | Wednesday 7th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The two land, as they always do in the clearing and Anko immediately creates around twenty meters of space between her and Kaii. The latter knowing where it usually leads, he enters his combat stance by first unsheathing his tanto's and holding them both, in the same manner, he did when he fought Iku for the first time. His body's muscles all simultaneously loosen and his centre of gravity lowers, readying him to defy the limitations of a civilian body and embrace a shinobi's ability to contort. However, Anko doesn't move a muscle instead she opts to shout to her student.

"Put them away, we're not sparring today." The kunoichi claims with her hands on her hips. "Today we are going to expand your arsenal with jutsu every good shinobi should know."

Kaii eases up, placing both of his blades away with little effort. "Such as?"

"Erm… the body flicker… Oh, chakra manipulation so you can walk on water… I'll think of some more later." Anko stumbles out, still thinking about what knowledge she wants to part with.

"Um, okay then. I take it the chakra manipulation is first? Seeing as I already have great control as it is." Kaii assumes as he waits for direction.

Anko nods, moving over to the base of the tallest tree at the edge of the clearing. "Walk up this tree, do that and we can move on. I'm guessing you know how to move your chakra right?"

Kaii slithers over to the tree and his Sensei, making only a single tiger hand seal while concentrating a small amount of chakra onto the soles of his feet. In a single second, he lets the seal go and proceeds to walk the meter to the tree, placing his right foot firmly onto the tree. His concentration is absolute while he keeps shifting his feet up the tree until he comes to the highest branch which he then moves to, to walk underneath and hang upside down.

Anko is neither surprised nor happy at her genin's quick progression, in fact, she had expected this exact outcome since she was clueded into Kaii's seals. She continues to gaze at the boy as he hangs upside down, waiting for him to drop down so they can move onto another part of the shinobi arsenal. After thirteen more seconds Kaii does drop, landing neatly next to Anko with no excess chakra leaving his feet, a common occurrence with genin which normally results in the cratering of the ground.

"Well that's obviously a yes then, alright let's move onto the body flicker… not an easy one to explain but, ah, you'll get it you're not that stupid." Anko starts, taking a momentary pause before beginning her explanation. "So, to use this make a hand seal and well channel chakra to all of the muscles in your legs, allowing you to move at extreme speeds for short or long distances. As long as you have the chakra that is." Anko finishes but feels the need to add something else. "Oh... you also need to create a smoke screen to hide your movements until you are well versed with the jutsu."

"Right… so where do you want me to end up after I try this?" Kaii questions, still processing the concept internally.

"The Dango shop, I'm hungry." Anko smiles, disappearing in her own puff of smoke leaving only emptiness in her spot.

"I really should have guessed that..." Kaii runs a hand across his face and sighs, moving onto attempting to use the jutsu.

For the second time, Kaii creates the tiger hand seal, focusing all of his chakra into every muscle he uses when running and traversing rooftops and trees. The warm feeling rushes over his body and after a few seconds he feels like he's ready, and with another hand, seal creates a smoke screen. At the same time, he launches at a speed he's never once felt before. In a few moments he is already in the village again, and after another, he finds himself only two rooftops away from the dango shop. With that, he slows himself, but the fact it's his first time, coupled with the fact he's not that great at stopping usually, he overshoots his target landing a couple of roofs over.

As the chakra floods back into his tenketsu he feels light headed for an instant, but it leaves as quickly as it came. The sensation he experienced during the 'body flicker' was different yet normal, something completely unexplainable yet not something he wouldn't want to feel again. Kaii turns around, making his way across the extra rooftops with ease and quickly dropping to the ground in front of the Dango Shop with a happy Anko stood right outside of.

"Good first attempt, you'll get used to it. Right, I'm going to eat some dango's while you practise that body flicker some more, and I expect you to be back in the training field in the next hour. Okay?" Anko asks, her mouth already allows drool to gather at the edges as she waves her student off and enters the shop.

"I guess you left me without an opinion on the matter." Kaii comments to himself, readying the jutsu for the second time.

As instructed Kaii spends the next hour using the body flicker jutsu to make his way to various points around the village. After each use, the feeling of lightheadedness returns and lingers a millisecond longer but after the twentieth use, it begins to recede into nothing. The effects of using the jutsu over and over having an obvious effect on his chakra reserve and mental state. As the hour comes to an end, he uses the jutsu a final time and sets focuses on the training field as his target, hoping to land exactly where he wants for the first time. With each attempt improving his accuracy.

Like the first time, each step feels like a hundred as the houses and soon trees pass him as if they are all merged into a single blur. In his mind, the clearing comes into view before his body even enters it. He uses this to try and stop right in the clearing, letting his muscles slow down and his chakra retreat. The effect causes him to slow and as expected he stop, though unfortunately just shy of the clearing on the edge of a branch. From his perch, he plops down onto the branch and leans back using his arms as support, as he pants from the vast amount of chakra it took to constantly use the jutsu for an hour.

The rest is only brief as the sound of an object hitting the branch he is on takes him from his mind. Now alert Kaii pushes himself off of the branch and deep into the treeline, becoming one with the darkness the trees provide. The Rakuyama stalks the branch he lept from, looking for what could have hit the branch. He moves without a sound, something Anko thought prudent he learnt as soon as she could teach him it. With only a few leaps he is able to see a single kunai stuck out of the branch. He looks to Yuta and the snake slithers down off of his shoulders, and in a single puff of smoke, he returns to his normal size. Which is now about a meter and a half in length, still only a quarter of his full size when fully matured.

"You think it's Anko, Yuta?" Kaii asks his partner, unsheathing his tantos hoping to use the shade to flank whoever launched the kunai.

The snake hisses, looking in the direction of the clearing. "I don't believe so, she would just kick you out of the tree, not launch a kunai. Judging from the where the kunai hit, they were trying to hit you, but they missed."

"Fuck, an enemy-nin in Konoha? Or maybe a Konoha-nin who harbour a grudge for my being here, but would they be so blatant as to attack inside the walls?" Kaii offers up subconsciously keeping his nerves in check as he has little chakra and his seals are starting to flare up.

Yuta takes notice to the fluctuation of the seals and decides it's time he told Kaii something he shouldn't. "Kaii, I want you to try and use the seals on your back."

Kaii turns to Yuta in surprise, not really ready to respond but he tries anyway. "What? Why?"

Yuta sighs and looks his master dead in the eyes. "To keep my oath I can only tell you to do it not why, but do not try to use much of it or this could end badly for us."

"Us?" Is the only word Kaii can get out, still completely confused.

"Well if you die, Kuroyuri-san and Risa-san will probably kill me for letting you die." Yuta clears up.

The cogs begin to turn in Kaii's head. "Oka-san? I guess she would, but if it'll help I'll do it."

Kaii quickly sheaths both of his weapons, sitting onto the branch, closing his eyes and focusing deeply onto his seals. To do so he makes a single hand seal, the half rat. Nothing happens outwardly, but inside Kaii's chakra flares up to levels it has never reached before. The overwhelming release of chakra strains each and every one of his tenketsu, yet even with that he continues to push through it. The rush ends after a couple of seconds, and he begins to feel different, and the seals themselves also share this change as a part of the seal alters itself on both sides. He opens his eyes and his vision is different. He looks to his partner and instead of the usual Yuta, he sees a dull blue figure that he thinks to be the snake's outline.

"What the hell happened?" Kaii asks in shock as he gets back to his feet.

"It worked, you have taken full control of a quarter of the seals." Yuta beams with pride as he hisses his response. "You have gained the ability to sense chakra, among others thing I can't relay to you."

"Gained? I thought you had to be born with it? This makes no sense, explain my seals to me Yuta." Kaii demands, now sliding his tantos out of their sheaths.

"I can't, but Kuroyuri-san will want to know… after we deal with whoever attacked you." Yuta pushes his partner to the task at hand while covering his own hide.

"Fuck, you're right." Kaii turns looking in the direction of the clearing.

Unlike before, he doesn't find it empty, instead, he finds a flaring chakra figure. One he finds wired, as the figure of the chakra outline doesn't match the figure in shape. The figure is too big and the chakra doesn't even seem to be in the shoulders and head, so it must be either Kaii's inexperience at sensing chakra, or its someone using henge very poorly. Kaii takes a moment to figure out how to change his vision back to normal, letting his sensor ability go into the passive mode which he seemingly already understands how to do. An unnerving fact, but one that holds credence if it is always present but was just suppressed by the seals themselves.

With this information now in his hands, Kaii takes a moment to plan. With little effort, a plan enters his mind, and he quickly explains it to Yuta before dropping to the ground below leaving the snake alone. He then strides into the clearing, his tantos in hand as the figure at the opposite side of the clearing turns out to be Anko, stood waiting for her student. Kaii acts natural, doing as he would normally, placing his weapons away and walking to the centre of the field to await his Sensei's next task or jutsu to train.

"Anko, I take it you got bored of waiting for me?" Kaii baits the figure, trying to test if it is his Sensei.

The kunoichi doesn't respond, electing to stay silent as her student watches her carefully, something Anko has never done before… actually, it would be a miracle if she was quite for longer then a moment. Kaii waits for a moment before he tries to talk to her again, using the time to continue to look over the figure, while also trying to ascertain whos chakra it is, in the event it is not his second Sensei. Though the latter is near impossible without the knowledge beforehand.

"You okay, Anko-sensei?" The Rakuyama questions, feeling a change in the chakra inside of the figure, a faint shift but one any sensor of any level of skill would notice. "Alright, I get it, you want to be all ominous and silent to try and scare me, but you know better than that. You taught me after all, so much so that stupid Hyuga is lagging behind after being ahead for so long."

With the last sentence echoing throughout the air, the dirt on the ground unsettles and begins to shift and rumble. A single bet seemingly paying off for Kaii as the figure's henge fades to reveal, the said Hyuga, Kaneto. The usual emotionless features his clan is known for, replaced by anger and a deep sense of resentment for his teammate. The emotions barrage Kaii's nearly awoken senses, leaving him feeling different but not weaker or stronger. Without a single word, the Hyuga enters the battle stance synonymous with the gentle fist style with his eyes known void and his temple veins bulging out. Kaii sighs, he knew one day something like this was bound to happen, he just had hoped it wouldn't be a Hyuga. Even with the optimism his mother had tried to instil, it never stopped the very thought lingering and it seems it was for a good reason.

"Kaneto, we don't-" Kaii begins, but is cut off by the Hyuga.

"Quiet! You snake trash! You've been allowed to live for far too long!" Kaneto roars with a great deal of rhetoric with spittle flying out of his mouth.

"Heh, I knew you never accepted me even after I tried to fit in. Tell me before you kill me, what pushed you over the line?" Kaii takes a knee, placing his left hand onto the ground.

Kaneto looks Kaii over, but his anger causes him to miss the exact motion the boy made. "All of them! You've been given more than any other genin! You're treated far better then any outcast deserves! You're a stain on Konoha's reputation, one I'll erase!"

"You're blind, Kaneto. I'm nothing more than a boy with a dream." Kaii comments, retracting his hand from the ground, ominously leaving a rather large hole. "But I guess you'll never listen to an _outcast_."

The last word leaves his mouth at the exact time a large clump of earth disrupts itself behind the Hyuga. A large white snake flies out and coils itself around the Hyuga, constricting the boy with all of it's might daring him to try and resist. The topmost part of the snake hangs over the shoulder of Kaneto, looking him dead in the eyes, taking in his fear. Kaii smiles at the outcome, he didn't have to fight all because the Hyuga is too angry to see what he did, even with the byakugan active. In the same second, as Kaii starts to walk towards the Hyuga, another figure enters the clearing, landing in front of Kaii causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What the hell is going on, Kaii?" Anko shouts at her student while simultaneously grabbing his shoulders as she looks over her shoulder to the Hyuga.

"Anko-sensei, that's going to be hard to explain." Kaii offers up before gulping, knowing exactly how the scene looks.

The kunoichi shifts her hands from his shoulder to the collar of his coat, dragging him into the air. "Try me."

"I did as you asked, I trained my body flicker for an hour and came back to the training field. As you weren't here I took time to rest in a tree, until a kunai impaled itself into the tree. At that point I did as you trained me to do, enter the shadows and attack, though I wasn't given the chance as I thought it was you." Taking a quick breather, Anko drops the Rakuyama before he continues. "When it turned out to not be you but Kaneto, I forged a plan to ensure he couldn't kill me, and the rest is kinda obvious."

Anko sighs, she's found herself in a situation she doesn't want to be in. "You've put me in quite the position, Kaii." Without another word she clouts Kaii over the head, pushing him from consciousness.

She proceeds to do the same with Kaneto after Sekien disappears as the summoner is no longer able to maintain a summon. Before Anko is able to do anything with either of the boy's unconscious bodies, one final shinobi enters the clearing, Iku. The Jonin-sensei looks at the scene and turns to Anko.

"I'll take them with you, I should have intervened, but I didn't think it would lead to this." Iku confesses, gaining a stern look from Anko, something anyone rarely sees.

"It doesn't matter now does it, it's happened and Hokage-sama will need to be informed and decide a course of action." Anko voices moving back over to Kaii, throwing him over her shoulder. "I'll meet you there."

With that Anko leaves the field, followed shortly by Iku. Yuta rests in the treeline watching on as he thinks of his own next action. The only one being to inform Kaii's mother, Kuroyuri and his own mother, Risa.

 


	6. Chapter VI

Rakuyama Residence 17:36 | Wednesday 7th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The door to the front of the Rakuyama residence ajars itself, with the long scaly body of Yuta pushing through it. He doesn't get far as stood only a meter away from said door, is Kuroyuri and Risa, both with worried and angry looks on their respective faces. Without a second passing Yuta makes himself as small as he feels, he knows why they feeling as they are and part of it is his own doing.

"Kuroyuri-san, Oka-san, I know what I did but I thought it prudent for Kaii in the situation as it seemed." Yuta attempts to defend himself before either can launch any accusations at the young snake.

"I know Yuta-chan, but you still went to lengths we strictly told you to never go to. So, with that in mind, explain to us what you told him ahead of his chakra flaring for the entire village to feel." Kuroyuri demands, with a tone brokering no argument.

"I only told him what to do, not what would happen." Yuta answers, dropping his head down.

Risa looks to her partner with a piqued interest. "A loophole the Rakuyama clan missed?"

"It would seem so, I never thought an age-old oath would be bypassed so easily, perhaps I should inform Koshiro-sama?" Kuroyuri for a moment forgets her anger, thinking deeper on the snake partner oath. "No, I'll think on this latter, where is Kaii, Yuta?"

"Anko-san and Iku-san are taking him to the Hokage, along with the assailant, Kaii's teammate Hyuga Kaneto." Yuta returns, slithering across the floor and up Kuroyuri to her shoulder.

"His own teammate did this?" Kuroyuri looks shocked but forces it out of her head so she can focus. "Right, we best pay a visit to the Hokage's office."

Both snakes agree and Risa follows suit as Kuroyuri leads the way out of the ajar door, closing it behind her before leaping to a nearby rooftop.

* * *

Hokage's Office 17:54 | Wednesday 7th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

Anko and Iku both land softly on the rooftops of the academy, both boys still unconscious over the shoulder of the Jonin and Tokubetsu Jonin. The roof itself remains clear, and the two kunoichi make their way to the only entrance on the roof, opening the door and descending into the academy. The top floor remains empty, with no classes on and the mission desk being on the first floor in the Hokage's wing of the academy. They, without hesitation, quickly stride down the hallways into the top floor of the Hokage's wing, stopping only when they come into view of the receptionist next to the Hokage's office. The woman waits kindly as they slide over to the front of her desk, and continues to wait for the reason they are here.

"Is Hokage-sama free, Atsuko-san?" Anko asks, repositioning Kaii's body on her shoulder.

"He is, and currently in his office, I'll let him know you are here." Atsuko voices politely, picking herself up and sauntering to the office in question, before disappearing inside.

For three minutes the two kunoichi wait for the receptionist to return, both silent ahead of their report to Hiruzen. Another minute passes and both boys begin to rouse, which luckily is in the same moment as Atsuko exits the office and gestures to Iku and Anko to enter. They follow the gesture and quickly make their way inside the office. Hiruzen sits at his desk, both elbows on the desk with the fingers arched and a pipe billowing smoke on his lips. Once they pass the threshold, Atsuko closes the door behind them and they elect to drop the genin onto the floor ahead of addressing their Kage.

"Iku, Anko, what brings you here with what appears to be two groggy genin? One of which, who is also a Hyuga?" Hiruzen questions in a soft tone, though his authority shines through as both Jonin tense up considerably.

"Hyuga Kaneto attempted to lure and attack Rakuyama Kaii as he returned to his training field to continue his training with Anko, Hokage-sama." Iku answers with shocking speed as if she had seen the whole thing.

Anko notices and shoots Iku an inquisitive look, one the kunoichi tries to brush off. "When I arrived Hokage-sama, Kaii had ordered his personal summon to restrain Kaneto via coiling around his body. Neither have any wounds, other than the one I inflicted before we brought them before you."

The elder Kage takes another puff of his pipe, looking to his shinobi. "Iku-san, you said Hyuga Kaneto lured in Kaii, correct?"

The temperature in the room drops noticeably. The acquisition by the Jonin is serious and the Kage's disposition has taken a drastic turn. If true, the repercussions could cause an entire Clan to rise up like the Uchiha before them. Even the acquisition could rile them up to a point where they demand the poor Rakuyama's head.

"I did, Hokage-sama. I was alerted when Kaii's chakra spiked and made my way to the field in an instant, arriving ahead of Kaii confronting Kaneto, who used a henge to hide as Anko. His attempt was obviously malicious and his own words back it up, he said 'You're a stain on Konoha's reputation, one I'll erase!'." Iku details exactly what she observes, an obvious crack in her tone betrays her feelings for both genin.

She knew the hatred was there, but never did she expect such an action by either Kaneto or Taisuke. For it to come so soon is what really shock her to her core, as they were seemingly working well together on the surface.

"Did he now? Well, this is not good, no matter how it ended this way." Hiruzen sighs and places his pipe onto his desk before taking up a brooding type posture. "Anko, you will be taking full control over Kaii's training for the foreseeable future. Team 14, for now, will be split into Team Iku, consisting of Hyuga Kaneto and Ishigaki Taisuke while Team Anko will be Rakuyama Kaii alone. As such Anko, I also promote you to the rank of Jonin, and Jonin-sensei. Something I have wanted to give you but because of _certain_ past events I could not."

Both kunoichi go into shock at the revelation. Neither knowing which point to question first and how to even go about doing so. Anko's mouth begins to fall open, but a swift glare of Hiruzen fixes it. At the same time, Kaii is the first to make it back to his feet and take in his surroundings, first noting that he's in front of the strongest shinobi in Konoha, perhaps the world if his title is apt. Iku composes herself first and finds some ground to begin her line of questioning with.

"Hokage-sama, what does this mean for their first C-rank and future missions?" Iku knows all too well not to question the man's decisions, but she can at least ask about it implications.

"Both new teams will perform missions separately, including their first C-rank, unless I specifically order otherwise. This measure will last as long as it is necessary, and I believe it best to ensure these two for the time being are not kept near one another." Hiruzen elaborates, looking to the young Rakuyama who is now fully aware of what is happening. "Ah, Kaii, you shall-"

Before Hiruzen can finish addressing the boy, there is a knock on the office door, followed by a call asking permission for another to enter. Hiruzen acknowledges, and the door swings inwards, revealing Kaii's mother, Kuroyuri, Yuta and Risa. The five foot six inch woman, marches into the office and kneels in front of her son. She places a hand on either side of his head, checking for any injuries all while smiling at him. After a minute she lets go and stands herself back up, meanwhile Yuta slithers back down her body and across a small portion of floor to Kaii, manoeuvring himself back onto his partners shoulders. Kuroyuri, happy with the state her son is in, turns to the Hokage. Before she can said anything however, Hiruzen greets her.

"Kuroyuri-san, I was about to ask my receptionist for you. Glad you could make it, and I'm going to assume you're here for the same reason the rest are?" Hiruzen questions knowing the answer anyway but still wanting her to voice it to him.

"That I am, what do you intend to do about the boy who attempted to attack my son?" Kuroyuri doesn't waver under Hiruzen's gaze, her anger noticeably seeping through the thick killer intent that lays on the three adults.

The to genin, however, are under Hiruzen's reassuring intent, keeping them from again becoming unconscious under the deep strain a Kage's killing intent can produce. Anko doesn't bat an eye at the way Kuroyuri addresses their Kage, but Iku does, another bout of shock enters her system from simply hearing it.

"I've already dealt out the punishment to the both of them, they will be separated for the foreseeable future. That's the extent of the punishment as no actual fight occurred, thanks to your son's quick thinking." Hiruzen increases his intent with each word, but can't seem to cause even a tiny speck of seat to appear on Kuroyuri's brow.

"So, even though the child's intent was obvious, he's being let off easy?" Kuroyuri's tone becomes sterner as if she was talking to an underling and not the other way around.

Hiruzen lets his intent fade as it posed no threat to the Rakuyama. "Iku, take the boy home while I talk with the Rakuyama and Anko." His order received a nod from the Jonni, but before she can leave, Hiruzen's word stop her. "Iku, if his clan has any questions, ignore them and leave. I'll deal with them later on."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Iku nods for a second time, picking the Hyuga back up and exiting the room.

For a good few minutes the room remains silent, no one willing to break the tension over the four left. Kaii stands sheepishly to the side of Anko. He's never seen his mother so fierce, and in the face of a Kage makes his mind boggle. The Rakuyama were always known to be strong but even this vastly exceeds his own expectations. Likewise, Anko stands in awe and shock, interested in how the conversation will progress, and to see what Kaii's mother is really like.

"Kuroyuri-san, I think it's time we had the discussion you promised me when you were allowed to reside here. This time I will not allow you to postpone." Hiruzen demands with no room to broker an argument.

"Let Kaii leave and I'll explain it all." Kuroyuri bargains, looking to her son for a moment before her gaze returns to the Hokage.

"No. The boy deserves to know as well. Anko also has my consent to be informed, on top of being Kaii's sensei, she has a need to know if it will cause him any future harm." The Hokage explains, picking his pipe back up from his desk.

Kuroyuri takes a moment to debate the order in her head before sighing. "Fine, where would you have me start?"

"At the beginning Kuroyuri-san, I'm sure your clan has left out much of its past to ensure its future." Hiruzen comments, puffing on his pipe while leaning back in his chair.

The Rakuyama clicks her tongue. "Back during the Warring Clan's period, the Rakuyama clan was reclusive, by choice. While most clan's sought the battlefield we didn't, we focused on our union with the Snakes of Ryuichi Cave, nurturing a bond that had been founded over ten generations earlier. When Chakra was first _released_ by the Sage of The Six Paths." She pauses, taking in another breath ahead of continuing. "Though we were mostly safe during our time traveling the land in the shadows, a good number of clans saw our bond as troubling and through a number of wars, our numbers dwindled. Since then we delve further into reclusion, and that lasted until Kaii and I came to your village. Though those who harboured those feelings have long since moved on, as have we."

Hiruzen nods, content with the answer for the most part. "Please move onto the Seals Kuroyuri-san, I'm sure Anko would benefit from understanding them, she may even be able to help Kaii with them."

"They suppress part of our beings, namely abilities most would consider rare or impossible." Kuroyuri answers the next question with a deeply varied answer, knowing her clans rules on sharing the secrets of their seals.

Hiruzen furrows his brow in response. "Elaborate Kuroyuri-san, I'll not have a secret such as this kept from me. I'll consider it an SS-rank secret so none other than those present can know if that helps."

"Kaii is not ready to know, and as long as he in present, along with the ANBU hidden in the shadows, I will not break my clan's laws." Kuroyuri stands firm, a flair of chakra inside of her lighting her deep burning will.

The Hokage takes up a thinking pose, closing his eyes for in favour of focusing all of his mind on how to proceed with the conversation. He spends no more than a minute in this state, as Kaii watches on, hoping he can stay. The boy's wanted to know about his seals for as long as he has been suppressing them, but to little avail. Once Hiruzen's eyes open, the room tenses up again.

"I agree to your terms Kuroyuri-san." His words echo through the room and break Kaii's hope to learn about his seals. "Kaii, please find your way self out."

Before the boy can protest, he finds a hand on his shoulder. His mothers, and with little resistance, he does as he is asked and exits the office, closing the door, as all have done before, behind him. Not content with how the day has gone, he finds the nearest window, slithering over to in ahead of letting it fly open. Once open, he leaps right out of it onto the nearest window, choosing to train to help the day pass while his mother shares knowledge even he's not privy to.

* * *

Rakuyama Residence 21:31 | Wednesday 7th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The wooden door to the front of the Rakuyama residence swings open and Kuroyuri and Risa both slither in only to stop when the former see's her son sat cross-legged on the stairs. With a sigh she gestures for Risa to continue in and allow her to deal with any questions the young Kaii will have for her. Risa complies by sliding past the two into the lounge, taking up her usual spot along the ridge of the couch back. A short silence takes over as both the Rakuyama stare at each other, before the elder of the two breaks it.

"I thought you'd be training, you get bored?" Kuroyuri asks her son, walking over to his side and sitting down on the stair above his.

"I couldn't focus, I knew you were telling the Hokage and Anko-sensei something you won't tell me. The very thought that you'd share clan secrets with outsiders but not me frustrates me." Kaii details as his head lowers and his gaze locks with the ground.

"When you're ready I'll tell you, but not until then." The elder Rakuyama stands firm on her choice to not tell him.

Kaii pushes himself up and slams a fist onto the wall next to him. "Why the hell won't you tell me? Even Yuta refuses to tell me anything. What do our seals contain that it needs to be held to such a high level of secrecy?"

"I will not tell you, because you lack the strength to use them until you can I will not allow you to be tempted by the thoughts of whatever the seal could give you." Kuroyuri voices with finality, picking herself up and striding to the door to the lounge. "I suggest you drop it, Kaii, focus on gaining strength."

The young Rakuyama says nothing, electing to stamp his feet as he ascends up the stairs to his room. His snake partner however slithers off of his shoulder and descends the stairs to talk with Kuroyuri. The latter has already taken up her typical seat on the couch, reading one of her many books with Risa's head hanging over her shoulder as she watches her master do so. Yuta joins his mother on the ridge of the couch top, maneuvering next to her and directing his head over the opposite shoulder to Risa. For a while the three of them sit peacefully, each reading the book the elder Rakuyama has chosen for the night, but silently enjoying the others company. Before long the enjoyable silence wears off and Yuta wishes to talk to Kuroyuri.

"Kuroyuri-san, would it really be as disastrous as you think to tell Kaii about the seal's function? He's growing at a rapid rate and already has a full quarter of his seal in control." Yuta questions.

Kuroyuri turns to look the young snake in the eyes, with her own transforming into a mirror of Risas. Yellow with a vertical iris, instead of a circular one. "I do, unless he has three-quarters control, he's a risk to himself and everyone around him, but the news he's gained that much control is good. Only a few more months and he should have enough to be told, so Yuta-chan, please ensure he doesn't worry or try to use the seal."

Yuta nods, though his actions seem reluctant. "I will, Kuroyuri-san. I should go back to him before he wonders where I got to or what we were discussing."

The woman gives Yuta a quick head stroke before returning to her book. The young snake slithers his way off of the couch and quickly up the stairs, ensuring he opens and closes Kaii's door with little sound. His master does not notice the minute sound he makes, Kaii being to hung up on being left out of the secret sharing at the Hokage's office. Yuta swiftly glides to his usual perch, before falling into a slumber, one which is followed shortly by the young Rakuyama.

* * *

Training Field 18 14:06 | Sunday 11th Mar 13 aNb | Four Days Later | Konohagakure

The sound of metal clashing, senbon hitting trees and flying through the leaves encompass the clearing of the eighteenth training field. Kaii and Anko lock themselves into a fierce spar, as they have done everyday. The kunoichi chooses the low ground, toying with the genin as she ever continues to push the few skills she has taught him to their limits. The battle has raged for over an hour by the time Kaii elects to land on the edge of the clearing, using a simple jutsu to help conceal himself in the shadows. His opponent keeps her eye on him, letting him do whatever he can all while assessing his growth.

Kaii finds himself low on stamina, but his chakra reserves have just enough for another large attack, an all or nothing tactic. He places his left hand onto the ground, funneling chakra into the seal on his forearm. Unlike the jutsu Anko taught him, he does as he did against Kaneto, pushing enough in while consciously picturing his personal summon. Just as before Sekien slithers out of the seal, using the baggy sleeves of Kaii's coat to cloak his movement into the ground with full knowledge of his masters attack without the need for verbal communication. Once his summon is fully out of his seal, the Rakuyama picks his hand up from the ground and holds it to his left, repeating the process but with less chakra as to utilize the Hidden Shadow Snake Hand jutsu. Eight snakes each glide down their summoners forearm and stop just short of the exit of his sleeve, each poised to strike.

With both his summon and snakes in place, Yuta is the last to make their preparations, making his way off of Kaii's shoulders and down to the floor. As is the usual now, he reverts to his normal size, causing a puff of smoke as he does. With the drawing of Kaii's kusarigama, all three begin their attack with Kaii launching the sickle at the kunoichi for the first strike. As he anticipated, Anko readys to dodge by channeling chakra into her legs to quicken her movement. As the sickle barrels towards her, her feet push into the ground to move her out of the weapons path, yet instead of finding solid ground her left foot finds an unstable surface. One followed by Sekien lunging out of the ground next to her, using his four meter long body to coil around the kunoichi. His fangs poised at her neck.

With Anko struggling against the snake, the kusarigama flies past her head barely creating a trench wound on her right cheek. A small amount of blood trickles from the shallow wound as the sickle embeds itself in the tree behind her. With his target ensnared, Kaii begins the second stage of his plan, pulling vigorously on the chain of his weapon to add speed to his charge. He flies through the air towards Anko and when only a metre between them he shifts his left arm to his front and allows the snakes to launch out of his sleeve, each baring their fangs at their target. Anko, stuck between a large snakes maw and a bunch of smaller snakes maw's begins her attempt to free herself anew, but to Sekien's strength it proves useless and the jutsu lands with each snake biting deeply on her. In the next moment Kaii, dropping the chain of his kusarigama, holds a kunai to the kunoichi's throat. She simply smiles as a large puff of chakra expels all of the snake summons, and Yuta, being unneeded returns to his smaller size. Though he wanted to play as bigger part, he's happy he and Kaii finally beat Anko for once. The only real issue is how much effort Anko put into the spar.

Anko, now free creates some distance between the two ahead of taking a knee to pull out some badges for her small wounds. "Well crap, you beat me Kaii, and to think I actually put about twenty percent of my power into beating you. Well, more so thirty percent when that damned summon of yours got involved. Also how the hell did I fall for that? Rookie mistake." She congratulates her genin before taking a moment to criticizes herself for not seeing Kaii's plan before he applied it.

Kaii, huffing and panting from the last-ditch effort to win as his chakra reserves near empty. "One… to about thirty was it? At least I finally got… on the… scoreboard." Before he can continue he falls back onto the ground, using his arms to keep him sat up right. "So, twenty to thirty… percent? I feel like you are lying to… me, but I'll… take it."

Without another moment passing, Anko rummages a hand through her pouch and produces a single pill. She tosses it to Kaii, who catches it easily with his mouth. After another second the pill takes effect and the Rakuyama feels all of his body rejuvenate. The feeling of the pills had become a constant in his training spars, always needing one for the actual learning portion of his training.

"So, Anko, what are we learning today?" Kaii jumps to his feet, stretching his muscles while he waits for a response.

"We're training for your first C-rank! Infiltration style. In a week I need to get your blending, silent moving and, the most important, stalking of pray to a higher level. Not that you need much training for it, but hey, training is training, right?" Anko jovially replies the prospect of a C-rank gives her something to be happy about, instead of the usual D-ranks she's had to take him on.

Kaii finishes a set of lunges and turns to Anko with an inquisitive gaze. "How can I make my moving any more silent then I already make it? You taught me this before we even started sparing."

Anko grins at the boy and winks. "Well, I was holding back the only way to make no sound for later. It would have helped if you said your chakra control was so good… though the reason why scars me." The last sentence she says to herself with a brief look at the sky.

The Rakuyama catches her last words, now, more than before, angry he wasn't told what his seals do. To hide his feelings he forces the thoughts away from his mind, and chooses to focus on getting stronger, not just for his C-rank but the chunin exams too. His snake partner sees his determination and smiles in the way a snake does, he to ready to help his master faster.

"Anko, if I finish a C-rank, can I enter the chunin exams?" Kaii questions, his tone relaying his seriousness to his Sensei.

"Sure kid, but first let's focus on the C-rank, okay?" The boy nods and Anko then continues her training. "So you know how you can mould chakra onto your feet to anchor you to trees and walls and the like?"

"Yeah? But that's using the small spaces in those things to grip onto with the chakra, how does this compare?" Kaii quickly questions before Anko could say anything.

"No interruptions! Right, so you do the same, but instead of using the chakra as an anchor, you use it as a cushion so your foot doesn't really come to contact with the ground or tree. This means no sound will occur and you can move freely." Anko details the premise, though it seems like it's the barest of explanations.

"I… don't think you explained it right, Anko. You just said what it does not how to do-" As Kaii comes to the last word Anko grins again and launches a lone kunai at her student.

This forces his backwards, and thanks to his training, he knows to use the trees to his advantage by landing in them to help conceal his person. For a couple of minutes he moves from branch to branch, hoping to do so without anyone noticing his movements, but every time he lands and pushes off, he hears the faintest of sound. The smallest crack, brushing of leaves when the branch moves slowly. The longer he manoeuvres through the trees, the louder the sound becomes to him, more noticeable and infuriating.

Stopping after a further thirteen minutes, Kaii lands on a branch covered in full by the shadows given by the leaves of the trees. He does as he was told, creating the exact same chakra coating on his feet as he did to walk up and hang from a tree. A warm flood of chakra exits his tenketsu and runs down to his feet, coating them in a thin layer. His grip on the tree increases, not the desired effect but, if his Sensei is right, a simple waypoint to figuring out the technique. After hoping to another tree, he finds the chakra at his feet just make more sound, the anchor being the reason why.

Kaii clicks his tongue and performs the half rat, focusing on the chakra on his feet, trying to manipulate the shape and consistency of it. Moving more chakra into the small bubble creates a floating like feeling, his grip on the grip far from normal or how it was. Feeling more akin to standing on a thin mattress. The bubble itself was still invisible and less than a centimetre wide, but it still felt like it would muffle any sound beneath it.

With the new feeling processed, he does as he should and leaps to the next branch. His push off of the branch itself felt different as well, almost like he's using the chakra itself to push off and gain momentum, which with the branch staying as still as the dead seemingly testifying to this. Not a single sound is made as he glides through the air just ahead of landing on the next branch. The outcome, the same as the takeoff, not a single sound at all and no movement from the branch. Kaii takes this time to use his still confusing sensory abilities to check and see what direction Anko is facing. He finds her still fixated on the branch he lept from.

With this new found confidence, he leaps again, creating no single sound, but as he starts to congratulate himself in his head. He loses concentration and upon landing, craters the branch and falls to the ground below. The ground also receives a fair dent from the uncorralled chakra, but not to the same degree. A small curse leaves the boys lips as his sensei jumps over to him with a tiny grin.

"You tried to congratulate yourself and lost control, didn't you?" The smile sits on the wrong side of Kaii's nerves, but he tries not to let her get the better of him.

"No, I thought I saw something over in the distance." The lie is as basic as the fresh academy students knowledge of shinobi art.

"Whatever you say. Now, you did it, so you remember how it feels and with practice, you can do it instinctually. For now, we can leave it and move onto stalking prey, one of my favourites." The grin contorts itself into a wicked smile, as she performs a single clone hand seal with a single clone puffing into existence beside her. "Right Clone me, go walk through the woods and do it until I say stop."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what we're doing." The Clone sasses Anko in Anko's own unique way, a scary thought for anyone who thinks a single Anko is too many.

"Did… did your clone just sass you..." The Rakuyama asks with an ajar maw, completely shocked by the clones action, before realizing something. "Wait, clones can't speak!"

"It's a shadow clone, so hush hush, it's not a common jutsu. But back to your main point, yes I did just sass myself, now join me in the trees." Anko leaves the instant the last syllable leaves her lips, blending into the treeline like its almost natural for her to be there.

Kaii follows with no hesitation, ready for whatever he's going to add to his pre-existing stalking skill set. The basics were still fresh in his mind, from Anko's constant lecturing of the importance to the fact he felt so natural doing so. Using the trees to hide himself from sight, to strike when your target least expects it, a rush of adrenaline and chakra ever increasing his reactions. He lands next to her, taking a knee to watch as the clone Anko wanders aimlessly into the thick overgrowth.

"So, what did you have in mind for this? I've stalked you dozens of times, so do you want me to land a killing blow or?" Kaii questions in an extremely hushed tone, playing his role well.

"I want you to kill it without being spotted once if you do get spotted well… it's intense sparring for you. That's a lot of senbon, isn't it?" The kunoichi looks to the boy with an ever-increasing wicked grin.

Kaii gulps deeply, a drip of sweat runs down his temple at the very thought of so many senbon aimed at him. "Got it, kill without ever being spotted or heard."

With that he retreats into his mind, letting his instincts control his actions. First, he performs the half rat hand seal, letting chakra rest at the sole of his feet just like he was taught. Second, his sensory abilities activate and keeps the clone in the center of his mind's eye, never letting her leave his sensory range. Third, he keeps a suitable distance, staying high in the trees to use every ounce of shadow to hide his form as he follows the target. Fourth, he prepares his ambush, his weapons all ready for the event.

Ten minutes pass with Kaii still completely focused on the clone, who growing bored, decided to make it more fun for herself by increasing her pace. Her pace is just faster then the average civilian can run, but even that can create more variables for an ambushing shinobi to consider. The Rakuyama does so with only a modicum of effort, planning has always been one of his strongest attributes, it helped make up for his lack of any real skill during the academy. His pace matches his targets as he unsheathes a single tanto with his left hand while forming a single half rat hand seal with his right. After a second a small puff of chakra creates what seems like a basic clone, identical to himself, but yet slightly different. Unlike the clone technique taught at the academy this one has a weird chakra to it. Yuta seeing what his master is doing takes the time to advise Kaii, his eyes very much focused on the clone like his partners.

With only a nod the clone increases its pass, passing both Kaii and the Anko clone, keeping itself about ten meters ahead of the target at all times. A second nod causes a brief lue of silence, as Kaii leaps from the tree tops, followed by his clone. His clone acts first, the single tanto drew and held in front of himself, poised for the clones gut. The Clone grins, simply pulling out a single kunai for defence. The two clones engage and the first strike is deflected, along with countless others, but this is the plan. The real Kaii, with his own tanto and a right arm filled with snakes launches at the clone, which for once, shows what Anko's shocked face looks like as he digs the tanto into her back ahead of his snakes coiling around her neck and biting her face and torso.

With a single large poof of chakra, the Anko clone disappears with the snakes now wrapped around nothing but air. Kaii's own clone smiles at him, but it didn't last as a large volley of senbon embed themselves into the clone. His instincts kick in and he instantly retreats into the tree tops, the clone doesn't disappear in a puff of chakra instead it crumbles into a large group of snakes who slither off into the forest. Kaii uses his sensory abilities to find a single outline across from him, they too in the highest part of the treeline. Kaii sighs, he knows exactly who it is and just returns to the ground turning off his senses and sheathing his weapons, also letting his snakes on his arm return to their own realm.

"Alright Anko, how did I do?" Kaii looks at the figure as he questions his sensei.

The figure leaps out of the tree, landing in front of him and placing her own hand on his shoulder… well, the front of his shoulder. "You did good, a simple ambush with a diversion tactic to ensure a fatal blow. What I want to know though is how you learnt a clone jutsu outside of the one taught at the academy. I didn't teach you it, and I know Iku-san didn't, so who did and do you only train in your free time?"

"Sekien-san was all too happy to teach me it, I thought it would be a good addition to my arsenal, and you love to go on about how I need to expand it. I do other things then train, but mostly I just train with Yuta or my Oka-san if she's free." Kaii answer honestly.

"You need to get out more, jeez." Anko sighs, running a hand across her face. "We'll do the rest of the training tomorrow, come on, we're going to one of my favourite places."

"Erm, do I have to? I'd rather tr-" Before he could finish Anko places the boy in a simple headlock and begins to drag him towards the village.

"Yes, I won't have my student be a damn loner." Anko explains, continuing towards the village at a vigorous pace.

With Kaii still in a headlock as they move closer towards the village, Yuta shifts from his position on Kaii's shoulders, up to Anko's. Not really wanting to be squished by the kunoichi's forcefully taking of his partner. Once there and for the duration of the walk and subsequence roof hoping to wherever Anko is leading them, Yuta and Anko converse about little things, sometimes involving Kaii, but for the most part not.

 


	7. Chapter VII

Shady Back Alley Bar 19:12 | Sunday 11th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

With the sun lowering into the night, the two shinobi arrive at their destination, a rather shady looking bar with a bent sign above the door. The shape of the sign is the standard Konoha diamond shaped kunai, with the name of the bar along the upper ridge of the kunai, 'The Rusty Kunai'. The rest of the building lives up to the name, with the wooden panels of the walls seemingly ready to disintegrate at a moment's notice, the cloth hanging over the door is ripped like a pair of sparing shinobi fought through it. The roofing mostly gone and only a little sheet of cloth keeping the elements out of the insides.

Kaii takes all of the details in, applying a feeling of confusion as to why any shinobi would visit this run down old bar to what he sees. His gave changes from the bar to his Sensei, finding her smiling like a kid in a candy shop before she takes the last few steps to close the distance between her and the door. The kunoichi disappears into the establishment leaving her genin all alone outside, still trying to understand his first observation. Only a minute amount of time passes before Anko pokes her head back out of the bar, looking at Kaii with a glare that conveys her message, 'hurry up, geez'. Again without waiting for him to follow she recedes into the bar.

Now done with his thoughts he does as he is asked, and slides over to the front of the bar, the smell of liquor and food enters his nostrils. The pungent smell of the alcohol nearly dazing the boy as his hand reaches out for the ruined cloth. His hand, however, finds the pouch of a flak jacket worn by a 'happy drunk' shinobi of the village. The man's expression or lack of one as his mask obscures his face, sends a quick chill down Kaii's spine. Even drunk the man instinctually sends out a dangerous aura, only betrayed by his happy eyes now fixated on the genin before him.

A smile creases the shinobi's mask as he pats Kaii on the head and maneuvers his way past the boy, in the next instant he disappears. Kaii looks over his shoulder only to find chakra smoke in place of the man. With a shrug of indifference he reaches to grab the cloth, pushing it to the right as he passes through. The once pungent smell increases to a level only most would think only a brewery could reach. He takes a quick look around to find his Sensei, who as she does is sat at the bar shouting obnoxiously at whoever she can, laughing heartily afterwards at the same person expense. Kaii's lack of social experience creates a small lump in his throat, immovable by swallowing and only growing larger as the mere presence of so many shinobi places him firmly on edge. Each step he takes feels like a lifetime as the world around him seemingly slows, the distance distorting as his mind races and his anxiety rises further. The first time in a long time Kaii feels out of his depth, and that scares him to no end. Anyone in the bar could easily kill him even in their drunken stupors.

Anko finishes a swig of her drink and swings vigorously around on her chair, ready to drag her genin into the bar if he hasn't made his own way in. To her glee he is already inside, but one quick glimpse highlights his obvious fear. A small sigh exits her lips while she saunters across the bar to grab her student by the shoulders. Kaii barely acknowledges her presence, still firmly in thought and in deep with his now apparent anxieties. Anko had gathered this could be one of his reactions, but she held him in higher regard. Though with an extra moment to think, her mind reminds her he's a genin with no real combat experience and any chunin could set a shiver down his spine. Slightly annoyed by this, she quickly raises a hand and brings it swiftly down across Kaii's face. The sound silencing the entire bar for a single instance, but the abr as all do, returns to it's loud atmosphere as quickly as it is silenced. The young Rakuyama stares blankly at Anko for a second before snapping out of his anxiety driven shut down.

"Geez kid, get yourself together you're a shinobi now and you can't be locking up when faced with someone stronger than you." Anko chastises her student but with an undertone of care.

Kaii uses a single hand to rub his face as his senses return to him. "I understand Anko-sensei, but… did you have to hit me so hard‽"

The kunoichi clicks her tongue and without much effort slaps the Rakuyama again. "Yes, because you need to learn and you seem to learn better when it's applied first hand and not with words alone."

"I guess." Kaii starts to rub the second while Anko walks around to his back and starts to push him towards the bar.

The Rakuyama returns to observing the bar as he allows his body to be forcefully moved to the bar for him. A single man stands behind the bar, dressed in nondescript clothes other than a single tea towel over his shoulder. In his left hand rest a large bottle filled with a light brown liquid and a label with 'Land of Fire Whisky' on it. His right hand slowly rubs the counter down with a sponge while his gaze settles on Kaii, a newcomer in all terms of the word. The gaze doesn't light up any internal senses, but still like the rest Kaii feels a sense of danger from him. Even if it's only a small amount.

Anko keeps pushing Kaii until they reach the edge of the bar counter where she releases him and takes up her seat. The boy does the same with the chair directly next to her, gaining a few looks as he does though none linger long. Now comfortable in his seat, a glass slides into view from further down the counter. A clear liquid ripples and shakes around the glass as it does so with a strong odour clouding around the top. The aroma is a staunch reminder of where he is, his face wrinkling as he takes in the smell. Anko takes little notice of the cup, waiting for her genin to act first and see his reaction to an unannounced drink being given to him.

As a shinobi, Kaii is sceptical of the drink. He looks it over and tries to find anything out of the ordinary, a tell of poison or a discolouration subtle enough to not notice at first glance. The process goes on for a little of five seconds, finding little wrong other than a small amount of odourless powder on the rim. That alone is not enough to convince him that the drink is unsafe, so in addition, he activates his senses, focusing them solely on the small glass. As before nothing comes of it, no residual chakra or anything at all. With nothing outwardly wrong, he reaches out to the drink, grasping it and as he brings it to his lips he stops. The odour changes, becoming insidious in nature. Without another second Kaii drops the glass onto the floor, his vision blurring slightly as he begins to feel like he's losing control of himself.

Anko watches as he begins to sway slightly, seemingly showing signs of high intoxication from the mere whiff of the drink. A grin etches itself onto her face while the scene continues to play out in front of her, her own drink warming her throat and stomach. Kaii stops sway shortly after he started, gaining control of his body again.

"Anko, did you just try to poison me?" Kaii questions his Sensei keeping his eyes fixated on the bar counter, a million thoughts running through his head.

Anko's grin grows larger at his question. "So you at least know not to drink random drinks, well not until you've thoroughly checked it over. However, to answer your question, I did and I'm surprised the smell didn't knock you out."

Kaii's demeanour changes for a second and his eyes along with it. "No poison can harm a snake." After the last word leaves his maw he changes back to himself, blissfully unaware of his change.

The kunoichi's finger twitches as she heard the outburst. A whole host of reasons as to what it could mean and how it happened flow effortlessly through her mind, but the answer keeps escaping her. She decides to drop it with no way of understanding other than to watch out for it in the future.

"I'll have to test that, now what do you want to drink?" Anko changes the pathway of the conversation, trying to keep a casual atmosphere as she had no intention of using it as another training session.

Kaii looks to her, then to a large blackboard above the apparent bartender. "I don't know, I've never been allowed in a bar before and I don't even know what they serve or what I can have."

"Well, since you are a shinobi, you're viewed as an adult so you can have anything you want, from a liquor to sake." Anko lists a few options for her genin all while taking another swig of her drink, a glass of clear sake. "You should be told though, don't drink more than a couple of glass or you'll find it hard to walk or talk."

The boy nods, looking through the long list of drinks. Each are accompanied by a price in Ryo determined by the size of the drink ordered. He takes a few minutes to think, balancing his bankroll to purchase the drink along with the rest needed to pay for his weapon in a few days time. Kaii settles on the very drink already in the bartender's hand, the 'Fire of Land Whisky'.

"Anko, I'll have the 'Fire of Land Whisky'." The Rakuyama voices to his Sensei.

"Oh, will you? Best order it yourself then seeing as you want a real shinobi's drink." Anko winks with a small laugh.

Kaii grits his teeth and looks to the Bartender, his hand slowly rising into the air. "Excuse me, can I-" Before he can continue the man cuts his words short.

"A single 'Land of Fire Whisky' coming right up Shinobi-san." The Bartender confirms, letting go of the sponge and grabbing a glass not too dissimilar to the one Kaii dropped only a moment ago.

He simply places the glass on the counter ahead of undoing the top of the bottle in his left hand. With a respectable amount of skill, the man fills the glass, letting the liquid slide around the glass before it settles at about half a glass full. The bottle is then swiftly closed and placed back on the counter, his right hand now held out for payment from the young Rakuyama.

"Fifty Ryo please, Shinobi-san." The man asks with a small smile, his aura that of a civilian though a lack of any fear or worry at the shinobi around him is admirable for a civilian.

Kaii slips his hand into his pouch and produces a couple of notes. He counts them and adds a little extra as a tip, something he has always been advised to do by his mother when in a restaurant or a bar as a sign of courtesy. In the next moment, he places them onto the counter and slides them to the bartender, putting the rest away into his pouch. The man nods before returning to wiping down the bar. Kaii, on the other hand, looks over the drink as he did the first one, the process expedited as he saw the man pour the drink and no civilian could pull anything in front of a shinobi.

Content with his drink he picks it up and downs the entire glass. As the liquid enters his throat it begins the process of simulating a burn crawling into his stomach. Kaii's eyes begin to water out of reflex of the burning sensation he's feeling, a lump forms in the back of his gullet one only removable with a swift cough. His Sensei stifles a quick laugh at his expense, one he returns with a glare of callousness, but not one he could back up.

Just as Kaii begins to regain his composure and his throat begins to soothe a faint tap breaks his concentration. A quick glance over his shoulder reveals the person who desired his attention, Nakano Iku. Unlike the last time he saw his team's Sensei, she's seemingly worse for ware. Her hair frayed and unkept, her uniform dirty and ragged, not fit for any Jonin of Konoha. Her expressions match her appearance, down and trodden as if she had failed not only herself but those around her.

"Iku-sensei? What are you doing here?" Kaii fumbles a question together.

"I… I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be out with some friends, at home or even training?" Iku returns with her own question, but lacking all of her usual confidence.

"What friends?" Kaii asks her with a hint of cruel irony.

"Ah, still not doing well on that front then? I'm guessing the _incident_ didn't really paint you that well either, even if you were technically the victim." Iku comments, part of her patented confidence and humour seeping through her otherwise downtrodden state.

Kaii tenses up at the mention of the incident, a wound that still hasn't begun to heal. "People know about it? How? Why?"

"The Hyuga. They were none too pleased with you for it, and that's after hearing what had happened from both Kaneto and Hokage-sama. No matter what Hokage-sama tried to do or say, they wanted your head and it won't be long until they come for it." His former Sensei's words echo caution and an underlying warning.

"Thank you Iku-sensei, I'll keep my head low and focus on becoming stronger. Are… are you okay Iku-sensei? You seem different." The young Rakuyama voices after thanking for the advice.

The older Jonin-sensei flinches visibly, tensing all of her muscles for a second before letting them relax. "I… I'm… I'm fine." Without letting Kaii respond she disappears in a cloud of smoke.

The smoke dissipates after a couple of seconds, leaving only the empty air that was there before hand. The young shinobi's worry for his old sensei's appearance becomes visible for a moment, but nothing he can do will prove useful to anyone. With the news that the Hyuga clan also seemingly have it out for him, he's left with little options but to ignore it and focus on himself, growing his arsenal and strength to prove his worth.

With the new information in hand, Kaii turns on his chair to see Anko about six drinks further down the line from when they began. Both of her cheeks rosy red from the warmth of the alcohol, and her eyes filled with unquestionable joy. Kaii reaches out to her shoulder and taps once which gets him no response. A second and third both return the exact same response from the kunoichi. Annoyed with his Sensei he uses the seal on his right forearm to summon one of his smaller snakes. The snake leaves the seal and slithers down the remainder of his master's arm and onto the shoulder of the kunoichi, making its way around her neck. Once thoroughly coiled it bites hard into the woman's rosy cheek, which warrants an immediate response in the form of a slap to her own face. Lucky for the snake Kaii sends him back to the summoning realm before the fateful slap connects.

"Whaaaaat.. the? I cooooould've swwwworn there was a thwing on my fwaaaace?" Anko blurts aloud, rubbing her cheek looking at her direct surroundings all while slurring her words.

"Anko-sensei, I'm leaving for the night. Oh, crap I forgot my Oka-san wanted me to give you this note." The young Rakuyama gets off of his seat, checking his being to make sure he has everything on him before fetching the note from his pouch and handing it to Anko.

The kunoichi snatches the note and opens it. "Oooooo, soooo ssshe finally waaaants to meeeet me one on oooone? I wwwondered when sheeee'dd ask for meee, sheeee alwaysssss seemed soooooo formal." Again her words become elongated by the slurring.

"Right… I'll see you tomorrow then Anko-sensei." Kaii states not that he thinks Anko is listening to him… or that aware he's there.

Kaii, ready for home, leaves the bar through the crowd of drunk shinobi, all laced with the smell of liquor. Once through the crowd, he pushes the cloth out of his way and leaps to the roof of the building across the small alleyway. He lands softly on the tiled slanted roof and takes a knee, but only for a second as it isn't the time to be thinking about the situation he might be in. With that, he leaps to the next roof and makes his way back to his house.

* * *

Konoha Market District 13:04 | Tuesday 13th Mar 13 aNb | Two Days Later | Konohagakure

The midday rush at the Konoha market is a sight all shinobi enjoy to view from the rooftops, and not on the ground. The sheer amount of civilians looking at each and every shop leaves little room to manoeuvre easily on the ground, unlike the roofs. Kaii overlooks the shop he placed his order at from across the street ahead of dropping to the ground to enter the shop itself. A single arm pushes the curtain out of the way as he enters to find the same men as before behind the counter talking to another shinobi. A Chunin if Kaii remembers the small difference between the Jonin and Chunin's uniforms.

Kaii slithers across the shop to a rack of pristine weapons at the far side of the shop next to a door which can only lead to the backroom. The sound of the two conversing echoes across the shop and enter Kaii's ears, a simple order of kunai and shuriken for a mission he's leaving on. The weapons in front of Kaii, however, are anything but simple, the rarest weapons he's ever seen, but not because of their quality but because they are extremely hard to find weapons in the Land of Fire.

Time slips past with ease as Kaii takes in the details of each of the weapons and their possible uses in a battle. The shinobi at the counter bows and takes his leave with his supplies in hand as the proprietor of the shop mirrors his bow and watches as he leaves through the curtain. With the owner now free Kaii saunters over to the counter.

"I placed an order last week for a custom kusarigama, is it ready by chance?" Kaii immediately questions, keeping his tone somewhat formal but still polite.

"A custom kusarigama? Oh, yes, I finished it yesterday, please excuse me while I retrieve it from the backroom, shinobi-san." The man bows quickly before striding to the door Kaii noticed next to the rack of weapons.

The door opens with a deep crack, piercing the ears of all within hearing range. As it did when opened as the man closes it, the door does the same. Kaii returns to looking around the shop as he awaits the proprietor, seeing even more weapons he's only ever read about. A pair of dark oak tonfa rest just behind the counter on the wall, like the rest of the rare equipment they are pristine and unused. He wonders what use they could have to him, as a third weapon could prove useful but also cause him some issues. Too many choices is not always a shinobi's best friend, with a new weapon comes to a vast amount of new training to implement the weapon into an already created fighting style along with learning to use the weapon itself. Just as Kaii is trying to put together a way of using it in his fighting style, the owner returns with a kusarigama wrapped in a fine white cloth with only a small portion of the chain hanging low out of its embrace. The chain of the weapon is identical to the one Iku lent him other then it's a darker grey and the chain links are slightly smaller, but both lack a weight on the end due to the style both Kaii and Iku seemingly have with the weapon.

The large man positions the weapon onto the counter, slowly unfolding the white material around it. With each fold of the cloth revealing a part of the newly forged kusarigama, the long handle wrapped in a fine black and white silk just short of a black snake ornament that protrudes from under the fabric. The blade of the kusarigama is last to be shown, its sleek dark grey cutting edge with the rest in a slick onyx black. The black snake coils around the shaft, only stopping with its head resting on the upper portion of the blade and shaft.

"Here it is, one of my better works and my greatest kusarigama to date, shinobi-san." The owner beams as he looks over the weapon a final time ahead of looking to his client.

"It's amazing." A light shines on the weapon though nothing reflects as Kaii inspects it closer, looking at each part of it.

"The only thing left is the matter of the bill." The owner states with a smile.

The young Rakuyama reaches into his pouch and produces a small wad of Ryo notes bound with a single band. It takes only a few moments to count the amount remaining on his bill, seventy thousand Ryo. He hands the bulk of notes to the proprietor as he puts the rest back into his pouch. A quick count by the owner before he puts it away on the counter and with a bright smile gestures to the weapon. Kaii with one of his hands still in his bag pulls out a small bound scroll which he unbinds and places onto the ground. Sliding his current kusarigama off of his back, he lets it rest on the centre of the unrolled scroll ahead of channelling a small amount of chakra into the seal below the weapon.

Within a second a puff of smoke covers the weapon and scroll and when it dissipates the weapon is gone. The scroll is then re-bound and placed back into his pouch. With that done, Kaii oggles the new kusarigama as he picks it up. The first thing immediately noticeable is the weight of the sickle and chain, far lighter than his loner weapon while simultaneously feeling far sturdier. The lack of reflecting light off of the blade as he twists it around and holds it up to the light shining through the window creates a perfect weapon for infiltration.

"Thank you… crap, I never asked your name." Kaii thanks as a realisation dawns on him.

"It's Kagawa Ryoichi, but don't worry shinobi-san, most don't ever ask." Ryoichi assures his customer as he crossing his arms with a subtle smile on his lips.

"Still, I should have asked, and I should have introduced myself. I'm Rakuyama Kaii." The young Rakuyama bows while he performs an overdue introduction. "I'll be back whenever I need some supplies, Kagawa-san."

"Please do, Rakuyama-san." Ryoichi waves off Kaii as the boy leaves the modest shop.

* * *

Hokage Office 21:43 | Friday 16th Mar 13 aNb | Three Days Later | Konohagakure

Two shadow figures enter with haste through a single open window on the side of the Hokage's office. The two forms appear knelt in front of the singular desk in the centre of the room, one in full shinobi gear and the other in their own clothes. Sitting at the desk is Hiruzen arched over looking deeply into a sea blue orb resting upon a plush purple cushion with an aura of anger surrounding him. From the Kage's expression the two shinobi in front of him are the reason for his charged attitude, or at the very least are attached to it.

"You asked for us Hokage-sama." Anko questions with respect, looking to the same orb as her Kage.

The ageing man's gaze shifts to the kunoichi. "I did."

A full minute passes in silence, the tone Hiruzen's word took echo around the heads of the shinobi. The boy changes his gaze from his Kage to his Sensei, trying to read their expression and figure out what is happening.

"Hokage-sama… what do you need from us?" Anko's voice betrays her curiosity, but a look of worry adds to a mixed emotion.

"I need nothing, Anko-san." His voice clear and low as he enters a perfect calm. "The C-rank you had asked me to assign you has been chosen, leave the village before the morning comes. Once you have read it you may leave."

Hiruzen gestures to a scroll on the edge of his table which has a large 'C' on top of it. Anko picks up the scroll from her crouched position, unrolling the parchment swiftly and reading it in its entirety within a few seconds. With the scroll read, she hands the scroll to her genin who, much like his Sensei reads it in it's absolute. As Kaii continues to read Anko stands and bows reading to leave, but as she does her Kage's voice forces her to stop.

"Anko, stay. Kaii please excuse us." The Kage's authority echoes in his words with his glare fixed onto the young shinobi.

The young Rakuyama stops reviewing the scroll and picks himself up ahead of bowing. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

The boy slithers out of the room, closing the door silently behind him as the two older shinobi stare intently at one another. Neither move an inch until the door's lock clicks and a weird sensation overcomes the both of them.

"A sound suppression seal? What can be so urgent and have such a need for secrecy?" The kunoichi becomes more concerned than before at it's present, the most since taking Kaii on as her genin.

The room grows far colder than before, almost ice cold when Hiruzen finally replies. "The Hyuga have made their move."

* * *

_Hyuga Residence Grand Hall 15:43 | Friday 16th Mar 13 aNb | Earlier In The Day | Konohagakure_

_A sea of brown haired shinobi and civilians fill the grandest hall in Konoha, the Hyuga's regular feasting and meeting arena. The sound of chatter fills the air as the minutes pass and more still fill the cracks between those already present. It doesn't take long for the last of the Hyuga to enter, the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, accompanied by his two children Hinata and Hanabi, his wife and nephew. Each of them takes up a position on the far end of the hall, on a stage with a seat for each of them, one that represents their standing in the clan_

_The hall falls into silence as they take their seats, with Hiashi the last to do so. As with all Hyuga, his expression are stoic and his aura empty. With all of his clanmates eyes on him, he takes a stand and moves to the edge if the stage before looking to every single member of his clan._

" _Welcome all. You are all probably unaware of the slight against out Clan. A branch member was attacked a number of days ago by a vile outcast, and as punishment for such he was merely taken off of his team and placed under the likes of Mitarashi Anko." A stern tone accompanies each word as he addresses all those before him. "Hyuga Kaneto, please join me and tell all here the tale."_

_Directly in front of the stage stands said Hyuga, a fire burning in his eyes, one of hatred and resentment. Without missing a beat the boy does as asked and walks around to the side of the stage and uses the stairs to join the clan head. He stops only when next to and behind Hiashi. A small amount of chatter starts to make itself known before a single placating hand from Hiashi silences the room again for his kin to voice his tale._

" _I went to try and build a bridge with Rakuyama Kaii as I was asked to by a close friend Ishigaki Taisuke. Taisuke provided the outcast with a time and place and he met me there, though his aura felt hostile and without warning, he attacked me with his summon, if not for my Sensei I could have perished." Kaneto contorts the facts in his favour without so much as a smirk._

_A loud chorus of shock rises over the crowd at the tale spun, none among them in disbelief at one of their owns words. Hiashi raises a placating hand again to calm his clan. Silence follows near immediately as all await the outcome of such an event and accusation._

" _If one in this village dared to attack our own, we, the Hyuga, must condemn them and see that they are shown they are not welcome in Konoha. Hyuga Hiroya, send messengers to all the clans and invite them to our grand hall in four hours from now." Hiashi's voices with pride to his clanmates._

_An applause of nods and slight cheers from the less conservative Hyuga fill the hall for a final time. Their Clan Head's words holding a weight they all feel obligated to bear and push forward. A single Hyuga at the edge of the hall bows deeply before leaving the hall with an urgent aura following him, Hiroya the messenger of the outcasts fate._

* * *

Konoha Side Gate 23:55 | Friday 16th Mar 13 aNb | Same Day | Konohagakure

The night's sky casts a vast array of shadows over the huge stone wall that surrounds the village hidden in the leaves, with a lone kunoichi in the centre of the still open gateway. Anko awaits her lone genin to arrive with a mixed host of feelings, anticipation for the mission ahead, one suited to her skill set and the skill set of her genin and the news her Kage gave her. As the moon takes its place at the top of its arch, the Mitarashi begins to become impatience. Her student should already be here and not a single reason as to why he's not enters her mind.

Eight minutes pass by before Anko, the cold night air keeping her calm as her mind never eases up. A further couple of minutes pass before a shadow figure joins the Jonin by the gate, two sets of beady eyes, with one of that pair's resembling a snakes. Kaii had made it to the meeting point with a black cloak over his shoulders, leaving a little space for Yuta to pop his head out of it. The kunoichi looks to her student and feels an urge to smack him but finds herself the want to spare him when he speaks.

"Sorry, Anko-sensei, Oka-san decided I needed some extra equipment, but it was all in scrolls and it took her awhile to find the right set." Kaii truthfully explains to his Sensei, the cloak an obvious part of the equipment he speaks of.

Anko nods but without a second passing, she whacks the back of the boys head, all while wearing a sly grin. "Fine but next time no excuses, we've got a long way to go."

"Shisaki town is on the border of Hot Water, right?" Kaii asks as he recites the town nearby to their mission objective.

"It is, but that's just where we will be going first, once we have what we need we'll go in for the kill." Anko confirms as she lays out a simple plan. "You read the entire scroll after the Hokage asked you to leave?"

"I did, we're after the leader of a bandit group known to prey on the townsfolk of Shisaki, a C-rank threat known as Kudou Kanna. She's a frequent customer of one of the few inns on the outskirts of the town." The Rakuyama details the target with near perfect precisions.

"'Customer' is a stretch, but you're right, now let's get going. I already did the paperwork as I waited for you." Anko voices setting off in a civilian pace through the huge gate.

The green genin follows behind his Sensei with about a single pace in between them. Two Chunin bow their heads slightly as they watch Anko and Kaii pass them and make their way into the treeline directly next to the dirt path. The two continually increase their pace, pushing the young shinobi's stamina and speed to its maximum as the surroundings blurs into varying shades of green and brown. After an hour, the trees shift from the large sturdy ironwood of the first Hokage's design to smaller trees, native to the land of Fire. Each time they land and then leap, the branches shake uncontrollably from the force the two Konoha-nin exert, some even snapping because of it.

The day as does the trees passes the duo by with great ease. To Anko and Kaii, the sun lingered for little less than a moment as they find themselves stopping deep into the forest after a gruelling twenty-hour trip. The moment they drop to the ground Kaii faints from sheer exhaustion. It could have happened sooner but thanks to a few pills the boy was able to continue to push past his usual limits. Without her genin, a single sigh comes from the Jonin as she removes a scroll from her jacket pocket and places it on the ground. A single hand seal releases the contents of the scroll which is accompanied by an obligatory puff of chakra smoke.

The contents range from a pair of sleeping bags, a tent and various other camping tools, only shinobi are able to buy. Anko lays the tent out, using the rope attached to it to quickly prop it up. After that comes the placing of the two sleeping bags, one for herself and the other for Kaii, though the latter is unable to really get himself into it. Seeing this Anko slides over to her genin, picking him up in a bridal carry and taking him to his sleeping bag. With little care, she drops him on top of the bag. A little smirk etches itself onto her face while she exits the tent.

Finally free from the burden of the unconscious Kaii, Anko turns her attention to the small clearing they landed in. Only a few metres in circumference with a dense treeline all around it, and only a slight drop of moonlight to help see. Nothing immediately takes her attention, the lack of animals or any real life is nothing new deep enough into a forest. To cover all bases she scouts a little way out from the tent, spending the better part of an hour looking for anything or anyone that could comprise their position. Finding nothing that fills the criteria she set for herself, Anko returns to the tent, but instead of going to sleep she perches on top of one of the trees closest to the tent to keep watch until Kaii awakes.

Six hours pass Anko by as she remains ever watchful from her roost in the tree line. The entire time spent solely focused on the tent with no interruptions at all which from simply looking at the kunoichi's face can tell she'd have prefered a fight or at least a disturbance. A few more minutes pass before the sound of a zip being undone enters the ears of the Mitarashi. In turn, she drops from the branch landing just to the side of the fully awake but slightly sore Kaii.

"Took your time." Anko sasses pulling out the very same scroll she used to produce the tent and supplies.

"If you hadn't pushed me so hard, I'd have got up sooner." Kaii retorts performing a few sets of stretches. "Anyway, how long till we get there, Anko-sensei?"

"Hm, well seeing as I need you in fighting shape, another day or so." The once erect tent filled with supplies disappears in a quick puff of smoke while Anko answers her student.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are." Kaii finishes his stretches as his sensei nods while leaping to the nearest tree branch to continue their journey.

 


	8. Chapter VIII

_Hyuga Residence Grand Hall 19:51 | Friday 16th Mar 13 aNb | Earlier In The Day | Konohagakure_

_The great hall that was once filled to its brim with the main and branch houses of the Hyuga clan now sits almost empty. In their place are four tables in a circular fashion to the other with a thick cloth draped over each of them. The only difference between them being the symbol embroidered on them. The head or largest table contains the Hyuga's symbol, a folding fan shape with a single flame in the middle. The next in size contains a single large symbol of a stick with wings encased in a circle, with two smaller ones at its flanks, the Akimichi and their vassal houses the Nara and Yamanaka. The third is a circle, on top of 2 other circles, and connected in the middle of with 6 lines, The Aburame. The last is a clan with only a sole member, the uchiwa fan of the Uchiha clan._

_Hiashi stands behind his own table patiently awaiting the other clan heads and their entourage. It doesn't take long for his patience to pay off with the grand doors slowly swinging inwards to reveal the first of his guests. Aburame Shibi, the silent head of the Aburame clan. His presence however even with the lack of speech is felt in the entire room as he slowly and methodically makes his way into the centre of the grand hall. Attendants show him to his respective table and once there leave him to his own devices as the now two clan heads await the last one to show, knowing full well the 'Last Uchiha' would never attend._

_As punctual as the last guest the doors open again to reveal not one but three clan heads, ranging from a black-haired man, a blond haired man and a far larger man with bright crimson hair. The larger man walks slightly ahead of the two as he and his two vassal heads are escorted to their table by the same attendants as Shibi. Just as before once their the aides leave the room and close the large doors behind them. A lue of silence takes over with the five heads now in the room together, each bar Hiashi pondering on why they were asked to come._

_The break in silence comes from the man who called the meeting, Hiashi. "I thank you for coming to the meeting of The Noble Clans of Konoha at such an unreasonable hour for clan affairs. However, an event transpired a few days ago that has created a need for this meeting."_

" _Then perhaps you can fill us in, Hiashi-san, or are you awaiting the 'Uchiha' before you do so?" The larger Akimichi comments as he looks at the elder Hyuga._

" _Quite so Choza-san, a member of the branch house was attacked by the 'outcast' and if not for the intervention of said members Sensei, he might not be here today." Each word from Hiashi's maw feels cold but void of any lie, though each clan head thinks on them before responding._

" _Could it have been an accident or simply a spar that went wrong and became heated?" The black-haired man stood slightly behind Choza questions, not sold on the story even if it sounds true._

_A nod comes from the blond haired man as he holds a hand to his chin. "I think that could be a more accurate way of looking at it, they are teammates after all."_

" _Shikaku-san, Inoichi-san, that was my initial thought on the matter, but would Hokage-sama intervene with such a trivial matter?" He posses the question in such a way that it could only have one answer even if they wanted to believe otherwise._

_The room again slips into silence with each shinobi present residing in thought, expect Hiashi who is already firm in his beliefs on the matter. A good deal of time passes by all in the hall, the very mention of their Kage seemingly adding to the time required to digest the information and come up with an angle of questioning. The first to do so is Nara Shikaku, who steps forward to break the void around them._

" _Hishi-san, tell us what Hokage-sama's involvement with this was." The asks came off more as a demand but the subtle threat was ignored in favour of passive talks._

" _Both genin involved were taken to him after the affair occurred. As a result, all he did was split their team up, a weak punishment for someone who was found with a summon wrapped around another shinobi of our village, don't you think?" After hearing his words all bar one present all have a change in demeanour._

" _If it as you say it is, then pray tell why the punishment was so lenient?" Shibi speaks in a monotone voice, his features unlike the rest still completely stoic._

" _That I don't know or understand myself, Shibi-san, so it falls on us to act in the Kage's place." For the second time, all bar Shibi change their demeanour._

" _Like what Hiashi-san? We cannot interfere if Hokage-sama has made already punished the boys." Choza articulates to the Hyuga._

" _You can like the Hyuga have, condemn the boy and his actions. Let all know what he has done to the village, show he is not welcome." Hiashi announces to his guests in a very Hyuga manner._

" _The Aburame, if you provide us with a report of the event and only then, shall condemn the genin." Shibi agrees with little opinion either way._

" _Of course Shibi-san, I will have Hiroya bring it to you once the meeting is concluded. Now, Choza-san, how do you and your vassal clans sit on the matter?" With one already in agreeance, the Hyuga tries for the last noble clan, a sure sign all minor clans will follow suit._

" _I'll not condemn a boy for a heated fight. The facts you offer are biased and as far as I can tell have no merit, especially if the Hokage only saw fit to split the two." Chozas deafening voice booms through the hall as both Inoichi and Shikaku nod in agreeance._

" _I understand, then please see yourself out." Hiashi fakes a sincere goodbye as he watches the forms of the Akimichi, Nara and Inochi leave the hall. "Shibi-san, I shall have the report within the hour if you wish to stay, if not I shall as I said have Hiroya deliver it to your residence."_

" _I'll await for it at my residence." Shibi disappears in a cloud of incense leaving only the Hyuga left in the grand hall._

* * *

Shisaki Town Outskirts 15:07 | Monday 19th Mar 13 aNb | Three Days Later | Land of Fire

Shisaki town, one of the smallest towns in all of the Land of Fire, yet even with that it would be an injustice to say it was not a sprawling urban centre on the Land of Hot Water border. A border that sees many a shinobi and civilian travel to various hot springs and resorts to relax and release their pent up stress. Something only achievable as Hot Water and it's shinobi village, Yugakure, both practise pacifism and any active shinobi only work to keep the roads safe. However, Shisaki does not follow the same principles as is always filled with the undesirables that have been chased out of Hot Water or from deeper in Fire itself.

The outskirts of the vast town is where those same people flee to, from the large amount of manual labour available or the shady businesses operating out of the taverns. It makes for a fine place to lose yourself and those who would follow them to lose your trail. As much as the town tries to change it's reputation, the simple fact that within ten miles of any direction you'll fine a copious amount of bandit camps makes it near impossible to do so. Separating the outskirts from the innards is a rather short stone wall, only a few stories in height, but still a symbol of the differences of those on the outsides and the inside.

As the sun begins to lower in the sky, resting slightly just to west atop the sky while a single five carriage long caravan slowly makes its way into the outskirts of the town. Nothing about the band of carriages stands out to the few guards it rolls past, each one stood on the flank of the single road. After an hour of passing through the outskirts, with each mercenary paid by the caravan ready for a fight at any moment, it reaches the gate to the innards of the town. A large brute approaches the front of the convoy, a naginata resting across his back as he looks the leader up and down.

"Merchant-san, we'll be checking your carriages for illicit goods, understood?" The large guards voice booms with authority as he address the somewhat smaller merchant sat on the first carriage.

With a single nod, the merchet replies. "Of course guard-san, my associates have nothing to hide."

"Good, please ask all of your fellows to stand by the side of the gate while we proceed with our search." With that said, no one needs to asked as all those on the carriages jump off and move to the side.

Pleased with their compliance the guards do as they are order to and search each of the caravans with great scrutiny. No one part of the wagons are left untouched. After ten minutes the guards reseal each of the carriages and regroup with their leader, quickly filling him in before returning to their posts at the flanks of the gate. Content the larger man does the same, gesturing for the caravan to enter the inner portion of the town, safe from the hooligans and bandits of the outskirts.

A final hour passes and the convoy comes to its last stop, the hotel where the members will be staying the night. Each one takes it upon themselves to park and secure their cart ahead of leaving for food and a good night's rest. However, with all members out of sight and no one around, two figures slip out from under two of the carriages, one the smaller figure of a teenager while the other an averaged sized woman. The smaller of the two is the first to leap to the rooftops, who is soon followed by the woman.

"Anko-sensei, why did we sneak into the town? I thought we could go anywhere in Fire without an issue?" Kaii questions his Sensei, brushing off his cloak of the hay from the cart he was situated in.

Anko grins slyly, glad that her student asked a prudent question. "See, you're learning. Now, the reason we did that was to test your hiding aaaaand to ensure our target didn't get wind of any shinobi entering the town. Makes it harder if they know… not that I don't mind them knowing but it's a lot more effort with a genin here."

"So, what now? We don't have anything to go off from the report, other then she was last seen here." The young Rakuyama lays out before taking a moment to think on what the report is meant to be used for. "Wait, Anko-sensei, don't tell me we are going to the outskirts without weapons?"

"Well, we'll have our weapons, but we are going, tonight." Anko returns, her grin just as sly as it always is. "Let's get going and find one of her underlings, the outskirts should have little to no guards watching the rooftops. Now's your time to shine and show off those abilities I taught you."

Without any further exchange of words, Anko launches herself across the rooftops towards the very gate they came into the town from, as does Kaii keeping a small amount of distance between the two of them. The short trip provides no issues, and the same goes for the gate with both shinobi finding no issue slipping past unnoticed by the large host of guards. Once a little ways away from the gate, the two slow thier pace, keeping their respective senses on alert, with Kaii using the time to fully understand his sensory abilities while on the hunt. The first place their target is one of the taverns close to the wall, while retaining a nefarious reputation amongst the inhabitants.

Nine leaps form their former position is all it takes for the tavern to come into view, it's aesthetics closely match a typical tea house but somewhat larger. The only way to tell them apart is the large sign across the front of the establishment with the inn's name, The Blossoming Sakura. Kaii shoots Anko a confused look when he reads the name in his mind, a rather contradictory name for a place with such bad standing. His Sensei ignores the look and stands her ground all while looking to the inn, planning their infiltration in her mind. Not wanting to be outdone, Kaii attempts to do the same, using every sense to try and form a single plan or at least a partial plan to improve his skills.

From their perch, they could both fully see the front of the inn with people exiting and entering the building at an infrequent pace, but still, more then Kaii would have guessed given the time of day. Not that he really has any understanding of how many customers an inn would get at any time as it is. He moves past that thought, looking over the entire front to find anything two shinobi could get through without relying on a henge, but none offer themselves freely. With the front seemingly not an option, Kaii kneels and places a single hand onto the rooftop, funneling chakra into his forearm seal to summon three small black snakes. Who once fully out of the seal turn to face Kaii, waiting intently for an order.

"Can you three search for any ways to infiltrate the inn over there." Kaii points to the Blossoming Sakura, the three snakes snap their heads to look at it. "Then come back and tell me what you found."

The three snakes return their gaze back to tier summoner, each bobby their heads ahead of slithering down the side of the building via a pole attached to the side of the building. Anko watches their exchange from the corner of her eyes, paying it more attention then the inn, though she does wonder how Kaii will be given the information as the small snake summons cannot talk their language. However, this keeps this to herself waiting to see the outcome for herself.

About an hour passes before the same three black snakes return from the same pole they used prior, only stopping once in front of their master.

"What did you find?" The young Rakuyama questions with a smile.

The snake in the middle slithers up to Kaii's shoulders and over Yuta to reach his ear. "There are five guardssss around the outsssside, the top floor issss entirely used for criminal activitiessss with two guardssss sssationed there. The back of the buidling issss the weakest link asss many workersss come in and out sssso often anyone could ssslip in."

Anko does her best to listen to the snake, but to her ears all it does it's hiss, and hiss for quite a while. None of it making any sense which creates a very confused look upon her face as Kaii finally notices her trying to listen in. He shoots her a smile, before ahead of returning to his conversation.

"Thank you, I'll let you know when I need you three again, Gaidoku-san." Kaii pats the small snake on the head before doing the same to the other two.

"We await your call, sssssummoner." Gaidoku comments ahead of puffing into nothing, much like his two fellow summons.

Once the smoke dissipates Anko finally questions her Student. "Kaii, can you understand the snakes summons?"

Kaii looks shocked at the question. "I thought all snake summoners could understand their summons?"

"Only the larger summons like Sekien can talk like us, those small ones just hiss. Anyway, let's ignore that for now, what did the snakes find?" Anko against her wishes to find out how he does it, returns to the mission at hand.

"Five guards patrol the outside with two in the upstairs of the inn, the latter guarding the illicit activities that go on. They recommend sneaking in through the back door, as so many workers go in and out the guards don't bat an eye." Kaii does his best to inform the Jonin of this summons words while backing their plan.

Anko nods a single time. "The we need to have a word with two workers don't we?"

With little warning, the kunoichi launches herself in the direction of the inn, following the rooftops in a wide arch to avoid the guards line of sight. Kaii follows suit, doing the exact same as his Sensei, if only a little slower but just as silent as his use of the chakra padding having become near enough second nature. The air flies through his hair as each leap brings him closer to the rooftop the two will stalk a set of workers, to use them as a henge. Anko arrives first, sliding to the edge of the rooftop to look to the ground with interest while waiting for her student to arrive, who does only a few moments later.

The two watch the inn's back exit for less then four minutes before a group of three inn workers make their way out of the back of the wooden inn. None had anything other then basic civilian clothes on their backs. They wait for the door to be firmly shut before moving in unison down the back alleys that fill the cracks in the outskirts. Sticking ever close to one another and always checking behind them and around each corner as they move away from the inn. Anko leaps to the next roof, always keeping the three within her eyesight, while Kaii keeps at least a single rooftop behind using only his sensory abilities to track the extremely faint chakra signal on the three. More of a residual chakra signature but still one that can be tracked with ease by anyone with the ability to sense chakra.

Alley by alley the trio venture further away, blissfully unaware as the two shinobi stalk their prey. Not wanting to arouse any suspicion Anko holds her blade for around nineteen minutes before she finally launches herself from the rooftops with a single kunai in hand. Her shadow alerts the three to her poucne, but too late as Anko lands the heel of her foot on the back of the first workers head, nearly caving in his skull. Lucky for the worker she pulled her kick simply leaving him unconscious.

In the next second, the two remaining workers attempt to bolt in different directions, both having the same thought 'she can't catch both of us'. While a smart thought it's not one that applies to a jonin. Anko using her shinobi speed lunges for the one who continues along the path they were taken. Her grip finds the man's shoulder, pulling him back into a swift kidney punch which fells the man. Riving around in pain the main begs to be left alone, that he's done nothing wrong, which Anko agrees to, he's done nothing wrong but that doesn't help him as she firmly plants a fist into his temple, pushing him into unconsciousness.

Turning her attention back to where she landed Anko locks onto the first worker, then to the space where she believed the last one to be. To her slight surprise Kaii stands over the last one with his foot on the mans chest and his cloak still righting itself from his all three workers down, Anko picks up the worker she just knocked out, dragging him to a smaller dead end alleyway, just near enough to the alley they are currently in as to not garner any attention to the unconscious bodies. Kaii does the same with the man he knocked out, finding it far harder than his sensei, but still, he perseveres slowly carrying the man to the other two already piled bodies ahead of dropping the third next to the others.

"Right, that one's yours, and I'll take the other two, can't turn up without it or they might be suspicious of us." Anko chirps out with a smile, performing the clone hand seal as she finishes her order.

Within seconds a clone of Anko appears who in the next second uses the henge jutsu and changes into the form of the worker just like the regular Anko. With both Anko's now in their henge they look to Kaii to do the same. The boy does as he is asked, looking over the worker he is going to replace with inquisitive eyes as to not make any mistake with the jutsu. A quick three hand seals are performed and a puff of chakra cloaks the Rakuyama as his form changes into the workers with little problems. Thankfully.

"So what's the plan?" Kaii talks, but instead of what he expects to be a deep voice like the man he knocked out had, his usual slightly higher voice escape his mouth. "Crap, I didn't hear him talk so I can't mimic his voice."

Both Anko's stifle a laugh as the real Anko answers his question in a voice that does resemble the only worker to talk. "We're going to walk in and find out where the hell our target is, simple right?"

A single shiver darts down Kaii's spine as hearing Anko's usual phrasing in a voice that doesn't suit it. "Alright… Oh, Yuta, mind making your own way into the inn?"

"Of course, If I find anything I'll come and find you." Yuta slithers down Kaii's body and disappears in the distance.

A quick check of the bodies by Anko marks the time for the trio to leave and infiltrate the inn, with only a limited amount of time to act. Anko takes the lead as they walk at a civilian pace mirroring the same formation the workers used as they left, with Clone Anko on the right and Kaii on the left. With each step, they get closer and Kaii begins to sweat, with small specks slowly running down the side of his face and over his temples. Not only his first infiltration but his first ever mission where his life may actually be on the line. The only comfort being his Sensei, a infiltration specialist and for what it's worth, the only pupil of the Snake Sannin. Be that a good or bad thing.

At their pace, they make the trip to the inn in good time, with the singular guard at the back not even taking time to glance at them. With the guard thoroughly not interested in them, the stride to the back door with Anko grabbing it tightly ahead of opening it. The door at first doesn't budge, simply creaking at the attempt. A second try yields the same result but with a louder creak which garners the guards attention, something the shinobi didn't need. With the guard looking on, Anko tries for a third time while using a very small portion of chakra on the handle hoping to open the door without issue.

The door sucks the chakra in greedily, starting the mechanisms inside of it with each clicking and turning as the doors stiffness disappears. With the cogs going, Anko attempts to open the door for the third time which provides them with a slow creaking sound as the door inches open. The guard returns to his job, dismissing the three as nothing but bad workers or drunks. Not that it matters to him.

Once inside Kaii closes the door as slowly as it opened, keeping most of his focus on his henge as to not let it fade. The two Anko's progress through the shady hall slightly ahead of their student, as the aromas and sights remind the boy of his first visit to the 'Rusty Kunai'. Lucky for him the smells don't compare and are far less of a strain on his senses. The short corridor ends with a trio of doors, one directly at the end and one on either flank, each near identical to the door they just enter through. Clone Anko checks the three doors closely, using the facts shes a clone to find any traps without hurting anyone on their team.

Nothing immediately stands out, other then the same mechanisms as the first door. A minute passes as Anko and Kaii keep a good distance from the clone as she goes about her task, finding little out of place or any real evidence of where to go. Anko moves to help her clone while Kaii kneels, placing his hand on the ground to summon a single tracker snake, Gaidoku, from before. The snake slithers down up his arm and rests his head next to his master ear, already aware of his reason for the summoning. Without any pause, the snake informs Kaii of which door to use to get to what part of the inn. Upon finishing his master's request, he moves on to the second reason he was summoned, to aid Yuta in finding out anything they could use while Kaii and Anko search in disguises.

"Anko-sensei, take the right door, it leads upstairs." Kaii voices in hushed tones, moving next to his Sensei as he does so.

"Let me guess, the snake said so?" Anko quips annoyed she's been outdone again by her genin's summons.

"Don't sound so disappointed Anko-sensei… that voice makes it creepy." Kaii pleads with his sensei as he follows her to the said door.

The clone, having heard which door to open does just that, funnelling a small portion of the chakra she was created with to open the door. A thought comes to Kaii's mind when he watches the door audibly take in the chakra… why would bandits have a chakra lock? The thought lingers in the back of his mind, but he pushes on keeping pace with Anko. Through the door and up the creaking oak stairs, the trio encounter a third door, though unlike the others its a simple wooden door. Anko believing she took out the leader of the workers pushes the door open and enters with the clone and Kaii on her flanks.

The threes view is filled with a typical bar with a small corner filled with what Kaii can only assume to be to do with bounties or the like. Given the posters of wanted shinobi from villages and their missing counterparts. The once strong smell of liquor vanishes as Kaii crosses the threshold into the room, along with a strange feeling overcoming him as it does. Nobody inside bat an eye at the three, their henges creating the perfect disguise as all inside seemingly where the same or a variation of it. Anko does a quick count as she presses on to the bar, nine people, eleven if the bar staff are included. Not something she couldn't deal with if worse comes to worse. Acting her part Anko stops in front of the barmaid, slamming her arms onto the table and pulling a smirk or shit eating-grin, not that Kaii could tell between them.

The lady doesn't flinch, not even an inch at the act, she simply clicks her tongue and disappears into a door attached to the back of the bar. Anko hides her confusion at the woman wondering why something she likes in a man seemingly doesn't work and looks to the other bar staff, a man who looks extremely out of place in comparison to the customers. An overly feminine frame with little to no visible muscles along with long hair and no real presence. From the single glance Anko sends at him he quickly runs over to her front, with a tea cloth and glass in hand… though Kaii finds the coincidence all bar staff share the same exact tools funny. A fact he hides just, in fear of an Anko styled punishment whenever they return home.

"H-How c-c-can I h-help you s-sir?" The feminine man asks as he uses his hair to obstruct Anko' glare.

"What do you offer here?" Anko returns his question with a question, a risky one yet without intel beforehand one she had to ask.

The barman offers a quizzical look before hiding his eyes again. "Y-You forget a-again, worker-san?"

"Ah, yeah." Anko laughs it off but barely, scratching the back of her head. 'Shit, he knows whoever the fuck I'm using for my henge.'

A single chuckle comes from the feminine figure ahead of answering Anko's question. "The bounty station is over there and well this in the information and bar, simple."

A few thoughts race across Anko's mind, the first being 'is this a damn shinobi bar?'. The doors would make sense, and a top of that it would also explain why it's guarded so well. The second being 'is their target actual a bandit or a shinobi?'. Admittedly a bandit could use a bingo bar if they knew the people inside but with chakra doors, it doesn't sit right.

"Three whiskeys then, and we'll be right over there." Anko points to a table in the corner with nobody nearby, to which the barman nods to and gets to work.

In unison the trio stride over to the table and sit in a triangle pattern, each holding in their feelings, some better than others. They stay quite, looking around the bar for anything out of place or anything that could lead to their target. A minute passes and the bartender brings over the drinks, placing the tray on the table. Three small glasses and a single large whiskey bottle in the centre. With a smile, the man leaves them to do whatever they wish. A few more minutes pass, along with a couple of drinks before Anko decides it's time to do something.

"Kaii." Anko whisper so quietly the boy only just noticed it and looks over at her. "Recall your snakes carefully and ask them to find out what's in the back room."

Kaii nods, sending a small wave of chakra into his forearm seals which distort for a second, though thanks to the henge it is not visible. Reverting back to its usual pattern as a creature slithers its way up his legs and carefully up his top, resting ever so gingerly on his lower neck blending in with the dark shirt the henge created. Gaidoku listens as Kaii explains his new orders, his words were so quite those even right next to him wouldn't be able to hear his words.

Once the words came, Gaidoku slithers his way back onto the floor, using the dark and dingy wood to openly slide across the floor to the bar. While the snake does his appointed task, Kaii, Anko and Clone Anko continue to drink the ever decreasing bottle of whiskey. Four more glass empty before the Rakuyama's summon returns to his position hidden under Kaii's black shirt. Anko leans across the table, her head just above the bottle of whiskey as they all await to hear what the snake found out, well what Kaii says as neither can understand Gaidoku.

"They know you are not the workersssss, but they have not yet figured out who you are or why you are here. Inssssside they issss a barmaid and what I think issss a bandit from their clothessss but they have chakra." Gaidoku reports with great accuracy. "I believe the ssssecond figure mentioned your target… Kudou Kanna wassss it?"

"Thank you, Gaidoku, is there anything else we should know?" Kaii thanks the snake before asking a final question.

"Yuta-ssssan is ssstill currently obssserving the two, and hasss asssssked for permissssssion to ssstrike if needsss be." Gaidoku finishes with a long hiss.

Kaii nods once. "Anko-sensei, it seems two people inside the back room know we are not who we say we are. One also mentioned our target by name, and as such Yuta is asking to strike if the situation demands it."

"Dammit, fine, give him permission, but if they don't leave within five minutes we'll have to leave or do something. Understand, Kaii?" Anko agrees but issues a condition to the fact.

A second nod comes from the Rakuyama and Gaidoku finds his way back to the back room, leaving Anko and Kaii to play the waiting game a little longer. A game both shinobi grow tired of seeing as they know they've been found but yet still have a chance to find out what they want without forcing it. Kaii finished drinking since at his age the amount he's had is starting to affect his sense, picks himself up and saunters over to the bounty station which is manned by a single gruff looking shinobi. The man looks Kaii up and down, taking in every detail, or at least acting as he is doing so to intimidate the boy. Only a moment goes by before he finishes and asks the Rakuyama what he wants.

"So, what can I do you for? Another C-rank bounty or a B-rank this time?" The man's words are friendly but from his staunch guard that is still up, Kaii knows he's still under suspicion.

Kaii looks the posters over and after a minute the man seemingly starts to get annoyed at the lack of an answer. Coughing once attracts his attention back to the man, who glares at him. In the same second Kaii realises he cannot say anything, his voice is still his own and on top of that, its the voice of a thirteen-year-old boy. Quickly think as to not put himself in a bad position, he does the only thing he can think of at the time and mimics Anko's mimicked voice.

"Erm, none today thanks." Kaii's new gruffer voice appeases the man enough, only a small sense of danger now coming off of him.

The danger now realised by Kaii, whose mind clears without reason and ideas of how he could've moved forward fill it. One of those ideas being that the danger the man gives off is what Anko once taught him about, killing intent. With the killing intent subsided, the man's next words feel as friendly as they sound.

"No worries, hey, thinking about it have you seen Kudou Kanna recently?" The shinobi mentions Kaii's target, making small conversation about what he thinks to be a regular.

Kaii nearly flinches at the mention but keeps his cool, if only by a single hair. "No, I haven't. She moved or something?"

The shinobi's eyebrow raises at the question, an increase in killing intent coming off as it does. "No, she's still at the old place, but she has been out of the town for a while."

"Ah, well I guess I'll see her when I see her." Kaii smiles turning on his heel to attempt to walk back to his table.

"Wait a second, you know where the 'old place' is right? Or you been hitting the bottle too hard again?" The man persists his questioning by grabbing Kaii by the shoulder.

In the moment time seems to slow down for Kaii, as he finds himself in an even worse situation than simply not being able to mimic a voice. The shinobi has him at a crossroads, and anyway, he answers it, it'll lead down a road to confrontation. He turns his head to look to Anko for a second before returning his gaze back to the gruff shinobi. The man's intent and glare don't falter and only proceed to increase as time passes as he waits for his answer. Thinking harder about the issue, Kaii finally finds an answer and be it a bad choice it's the one he's choosing.

"Whiskey has that effect on you, along with an accidental intake of poison while on the job." Immediately the man lets his intent fade and does his own thinking on the issue.

"Right… it's a mile southwest of here. Try not to ingest poison again, but I'll have to let her know you forgot, alright? Oh, and you'll probably have to work double duty." The shinobi's entire demeanour changes, though the underlying threat remains.

Kaii nods once and continues to stride back to his table, a little rattled but with the information the two needed in his head. Once he's within range of his table, he again uses his forearm seals to call Gaidoku to him to inform the tracker snake to recall Yuta from the back room so they can leave. Gaidoku shows up within a minute just as Kaii sits at his table, earning a quick look from his Sensei.

"Gaidoku, tell Yuta we have what we came for and to meet us on the rooftops two buildings over." As Kaii finishes Anko grins slyly, picking herself and walking around to his side.

The snake does as asked and quickly slithers back to his position as Anko places a hand on Kaii's shoulder. "You can tell me where it is on the way there."

The three move for the exits, but as they exit through the door the back door opens with the single figure who mentioned their target looking intently at the exit. As the three did ahead of them, they move to the exit with a determined look on their face, one too filled with malice at the three Konoha-nin.

 


	9. Chapter IX

Shisaki Forest 21:34 | Monday 19th Mar 13 aNb | Land of Fire

Anko and Kaii leap through the tree lines, finding the trip through one of the densest forests in the Land of Fire a good rest before the mission ahead. The past hour had been spent is silence after Kaii explained where the base is and that it's possible their target could be expecting them. A fact his Sensei found slightly annoying, but also one she anticipated hence her presence on the sortie and why she trained him so fiercely beforehand. Deeper and deeper into the forest the two venture, the trees becoming thicker and the number of branches increasing making it harder to manoeuvre in a straight line. Though this only helps them keep themselves hidden from any prying eyes.

Another half hour passes before Anko comes to an abrupt stop ahead of her pupil, who observing his Sensei motionless does the same and lands next to her, crouching once at a stop. The kunoichi looks around herself, scanning the trees and the ground below for anything out of place. Finding nothing she fixes her gaze onto her genin, ready to ask him to perform a task.

"Kaii, get higher in the tree line and use your senses to find any onlookers, check the direction we came from first." Without letting Kaii respond, Anko drops to the ground and unsheaths a sole kunai as she enters her battle stance.

Not wanting to let his Sensei go without help, Kaii does as he is asked and leaps to the top of the tree he is currently crouched on, making it there in only a couple of jumps. Once there he squats again and closes his eyes, putting all of his focus on his senses and the finding of the anomaly Anko mentioned. He opens his eyes after a moment, his vision now that of a grey scale with only chakra visible through colour. He scans the direction where they came from, finding nothing out of the ordinary, a fact he asks Yuta to quickly deliver to Anko. A minute passes before Yuta returns, informing his partner to keep scanning but to widen the area of search to the flanks as well. Which he does.

The widen search offers up a result, one single chakra network around two hundred meters away from the two of them. Again Kaii orders Yuta to take the message to his Sensei, which the snake does with haste finding himself back at his partner's side without much time gone by.

"What are her orders Yuta?" Kaii questions his partner, unsheathing his kusarigama off of his back, letting it slide out of his cloak without disrupting the cloak itself.

Yuta hisses, enlarging himself to his full size of now two meters long with a thick body to accompany it. "We wait for her signal to strike, until then you tack him and I prepare a trap."

"Be careful Yuta, they could be a sensor like me." The young Rakuyama cautions his partner ahead of returning to his task of tracking the still chakra network.

Time passes by the two again, not just a few minutes but an entire hour passes before the figure makes its move. In the blink of an eye, the figure erases half of the distance, with the rest disappearing in the next. Like that the figure is locked into a spar with Anko, one the Jonin-sensei expected but is seemingly on the back foot of. The person is no mere bandit, but a missing-nin, one with an apparent grudge for village-nin by their sheer anger displayed in each swing of their ninjato.

The spar continues for a while as Kaii observes, analysing the figures combat style, how each movement is made and if there is any noticeable pattern in attacks that could be exploited by the genin. On the other hand, Yuta lunges out of the bushes next to Anko, surprising the interloper and forcing them back to avoid a chunk of their life, being taken from them. With a smile the person chuckles, sliding into their apparent combat stance before they drop their ninjato in favour of performing a set of hand seals. Anko reacts first, realising what jutsu the figure could be performing, creates a large amount of distance between them, while Yuta elects to perform a jutsu of his own. For a moment the sclera of the snake's eyes shifts from white to black as a considerable amount of chakra builds in the snake's chakra system, in the next moment a huge fireball escapes the snake's maw and flies towards the interloper.

Seeing their fate if he continues his hand seals, the figure stops the process and dispels the built up chakra before leaping to the tree line. Right into the range of Kaii's kusarigama. The young Rakuyama wastes no time in launching the sickle at the interloper, hoping to cut a tendon in the person's leg on the first pass, and with the second a more lethal wound. Too late to dodge the first strike the figure takes the brunt of the attack, hitting his thigh tendon and nearly severing it. A yelp of pain reveals the figures gender, though it never weighed on Anko or Kaii's minds, he's an enemy and that's all they need to know.

Not wanting to receive a more costly wound before Kaii can pull the kusarigama back for the second attack he finds the enemy inside of tanto range. The man's skill surprises the genin, who after swiftly pulling on the kusarigama's chain, relinquish the chain and draws his tantos while simultaneously falling backwards off of the tree in a controlled fall. The foe catches on to his stunt near instantly, though unable to stop his momentum to react to it and return the damage Kaii dealt. The latter crashes through a few branches during his fall, only stopping when he comes into contact with the ground. A small crater appears underneath him as he lands, followed by the branches he destroyed falling next to him. Slightly hurt, Kaii enters his battle stance and along with Anko sets their sights on the interloper.

Still atop the tree, the man holds a single hand over the deep gash caused by the kusarigama he was unable to dodge. Even so blood still floods down his leg at a steady pace and colours his trousers crimson along with the leaves. He eyes the genin with more disdain then Kaii has ever seen before, including those he receives from the other clans in Konoha. Anko not desiring to let the man regain his compose, leaps into the tree line, charging straight for the man with the same single kunai in her hand. The man too busy looking at Kaii fails to notice the kunoichi's advance, barely twisting his body to block her strike with his arm. The strike lands onto his forearm, daggering deep into the arm and causes a second chasm like wound, which too creates a waterfall of blood.

The man roars in pain again as he tries to push Anko off of himself, a failed attempt as the kunoichi grabs ahold of the man by the wound only increasing his pain. Seeing his Sensei close to the man and blood dripping down from the trees to form small pools only a meter or two in front of him, he leaps up to the nearest branch to close the distance between him and the two. Two jumps and he lands on the treetop next to the two, his tantos both ready to do as he needs. Upon hearing a few curses from the man, a blinding light emits from the interloper creating a moment of dizziness in Kaii and Anko for him to escape. Or so the two thought. However, the man chose to attack the genin with a freshly unsheathed kunai, aiming for his chest.

Unable to do anything due to the blinding light the attack strikes across its intended target, but Kaii, still recoiling from the blinding light only takes a scratch as he again falls from the treetops. Anko takes only a second to realise what the shinobi has done, ensuring she wastes no time to attack the man again. Like the first time, the man forgets about the Jonin in favour of the genin, to his own demise as Anko digs her kunai into the man's collarbone, breaking the bone and creating a spurt of blood. The blood ceases as she slowly pulls the kunai out, once fully out another quick spurt of blood rockets out as the corpse of the interloper falls from the tree top.

Anko takes a moment to catch her breath, the interloper is dead and the safety of herself and her genin is secured. Another second passes before she realises that Kaii was nearly struck by the man and in his daze fell from the tree. A slight amount of worry enters the kunoichi's mind as she drops towards the ground, landing from branch to branch before finally the ground. In her immediate surroundings is the body of the shinobi she just killed, blood pooling around him as his three wounds remain ever open, and the body of Kaii. From her first glance she can't tell whether he's dead or unconscious, but after moving to his side and once swift kick to his thigh later he coughs himself awake.

"Well, at least you didn't die, less paperwork for me. How you feeling?" Anko smiles at her genin as she crouches down to help him up, an internal feeling of worrying hiding itself.

Kaii takes his Sensei's hand, pulling himself up to a sitting position. "I feel like crap, I've never fallen that far before… or been that close to getting cut. I guess it's a day for firsts."

"It was bound to happen sometime today, at least you didn't get wounded." Anko's usual air of carefreeness leaves her momentarily as she looks at Kaii with a serious expression. "I think we've underestimated our target, she's a shinobi, there's no doubt about it. When we get there I want you to keep your distance from anyone we encounter and to let me deal with them. Got it?"

"I got it Anko-sensei, can I at least have ten minutes to rest?" Kaii asks, though with his Sensei's serious expression he knows the answer. "At least let me get my weapons from the dirt."

"Hurry up then, I want this over before dawn." Anko orders, returning her smile to her face before leaping to the tree line to keep watch over the area.

Kaii sits for a minute, his back tingling with a numb sensation from the fall, one that creates an immense amount of pain while simultaneously creating none. Trying to ignore the pain as he picks himself up, his legs shaking slightly while he does. He leans on a nearby tree as he looks around, trying to find the locations of his fallen weapons, two of which rest next to where he landed. Pushing himself off of the tree, he slowly saunters over to the tantos which lay in the dirt, once there he reaches down to pick the two blades up, sheathing them instantly. His last weapon takes him a little longer to locate, as the weapon was dropped far sooner in the battle and not as he fell.

After five minutes, Kaii finds the weapon stuck in the branches of the very tree he fell out of the first time. Feeling a little better and less numb, he leaps to nearest tree branch nearly failing to land on the first branch, slowly climbing the tree to reach the sickle of the kusarigama. Without much issue, he frees the sickle from the branches of the tree, but the chain is another issue with it being wrapped quite extensively around the branches. A few tugs of the chain prove to do nothing to loosen it, after a few more he elects to again make a controlled fall to the ground hoping the extra force with free the chain. He falls for only a moment before a loud series of cracks and crunches occur, the sound of branches breaking and failing to support the force exerted on them.

For the second time, Kaii lands firmly on his feet with the chain following behind him, landing on the floor in a pile or two. With a sigh he proceeds to reel the chain in and sheath the kusarigama on his back, attaching it to the holster under his cloak. Happy he know has both of his weapons back on his person, he walks over to the body of the interloper, the ground a distasteful crimson mixed with the brown of the mud as each step frees the air and bubbles the blood to the surface. Before he can take a good look at the body, a shrunk Yuta slithers up his leg and back to his position on his shoulders. He then returns to looking over the body which sets Kaii on edge, more so then the fight did. In the fight it was akin to his spars with Anko, nothing seemed different other than the outcome. One Kaii blocked out as instructed, but looking over the corpse makes real the very fact that he is a trained killer and this is his norm.

The longer he looks, the sicker he feels. His stomach becomes a pit of bile, his mind relives the fight up until he was nearly stabbed and finally seeing the broken body soaked in blood and mud. An urge to vomit soon comes into his mind, the scene only furthering the want to do so. Anko does nothing as she watches her genin's reaction from the tree line, wanting it to sink in and for him to be ready the next time they fight. Ten minutes pass in all before Kaii breaks his glare at the corpse, finally joining his Sensei atop the branch. Once atop the branch, Anko places a single hand on Kaii's left shoulder ahead of a swift nod as she leaps to the next and continues their journey to the target. The young Rakuyama follows suit, knowing that his Sensei is there for him if he needs to talk about what had happened at a later time, as even he knows the mission must be done first, before emotions can be processed.

* * *

Kudou Kanna's hideout 02:58 | Tuesday 20th Mar 13 aNb | Land of Fire

The night's sky sets the perfect backdrop to Team Anko's infiltration of their targets base, which resides deep in the Skisaki Forest, with nearly all of it built into the tree line to conceal it further. With Anko taking point on the way there, the only way she knows they are close is the slightly disturbed branches, each slightly bent from what seemingly is rigorous patrolling. With that knowledge in hand she stops slightly higher in the tree line then the bent branches to obscure herself while she comes up with a plan. A few moments later Kaii joins her on the branch, crouching beside her as he looks deeper into the forest. Silence prevails as Anko continues to plan their moves with Kaii acting as a sentry while he sharpens one of his tantos.

"Right, I've got a plan, but first, how are you handling seeing your first enemy corpse?" Anko breaks the silence with a somewhat concerned tone, especially for her.

Kaii looks to the ground as he hears his Sensei's concern. "I'll be fine, but I never realised just how quickly a man can go from living to dead. It… it scares the crap out of me. I could have died on top of that… only luck saved me." Yuta takes in every word and as a result, lets off a reassuring intent to calm the young Rakuyama.

"Take it as a learning experience. Don't dwell on it or it'll consume you, alright?" Anko reasons, looking over to her student. "It's best we move onto the plan, okay.?"

"Yeah, I get it. What's the plan then? I want this over with quickly." Kaii returns near emotionless, his thoughts still on the previous battle.

Anko pauses for a moment, inspecting the boy to make sure he can continue. "Well, given the time, most guards should be asleep or on patrol. So, we'll take out a patrol and make our way inside. Once there we keep to the shadows until we find the target. Then we slit her throat. Simple." An uneasy smile rests upon her lips as she looks to Kaii, his aura showing he needs the reassurance.

"Alright, I'm ready whenever you are Anko-sensei." Kaii voices dejectedly, pushing himself up from his crouched position.

As swift nod from Anko acknowledges her genin's readiness, she too prepares herself to move. Again Anko takes point, leading Kaii ever closer to the bandit hideout, closer to his first kill, one she can't avoid, unlike the last time. Even though it's a normal part of a shinobi's first C-rank, Kaii's strong reaction to the interloper's death has set off an alarm in her head. One that makes her think he's not ready, despite the amount of training he's had. Maintaining a steady pace she keeps her eyes on the lookout while simultaneously on the boy, never truly letting him leave her sight.

It takes twelve minutes before the two come in to view of the large bandit base, which presents itself with a few minor lights. The only way anyone would see it, if they were looking for it. The Mitarashi stops again higher in the trees, this time looking for a way to enter the base while they wait for a patrol to ambush. If one is going to turn up that is.

The duo rest in the tree line for a good half an hour before the Jonin grows tired of waiting and decides to skip the first part of her plan, in favour of entering right away. She conveys the order with a simple nod to her genin, one he returns as she and Kaii jump to the roof of the hideout. Creating no sound thanks to the technique Anko taught him. Once atop the roof, Anko slowly edges over to a hatch in the centre of the rooftop they currently stand on. Seeing his Sensei move over to the hatch, Kaii uses a small amount of chakra to summon Gaidoku, who slithers around Kaii's forearm as he awaits an order.

Kaii brings the small snakes head up to his mouth and whispers the order, find their target Kudou Kanna. The snake hisses in agreement and glides across the rooftop, past Anko and down a tiny hole between the hatch and the roof. The kunoichi notes the small snake passing and continues to slide over to the hatch herself, crouching down beside it once there as she waits for Kaii to join her. The boy does so, but his expression remains unchanged from before which keeps Anko from remaining truly calm.

Anko slowly unsheaths a kunai with one hand while opening the hatch slightly with the other, looking through a small gap to see what lies below. From the first quick glance she finds the hatch leads to an empty room, filled with nothing other then a few cabinets filled with Sage knows what. She takes a second gaze around the room, or what of the room she can see, double checking ahead of opening the hatch all the way. Seeing no one, she turns to Kaii.

"You sense any chakra directly below us?" Anko questions, remembering her student's ability.

Kaii thinks, doing as asked by using his senses to feel for any chakra below them. "Nothing below us, but all the chakra I can find is residing in a lone room. At least that's what it looks like."

"That'll be the barracks… I think. Ah well, if they are all in a single room, we'd best wait for your little summon to return to us." Anko decides on the fly, closing the hatch so it doesn't attract attention.

They wait and wait, seemingly for an age, for Gaidoku to return. Kaii grows increasingly worried as each minute passes, a worry he chooses to hide inside of himself as he tries to focus on what's to come. Doing her best to reassure the young Rakuyama, Anko too begins to worry that something may have happened to the small summon. Done with waiting, Kaii opens the hatch, none too slowly or silently, after which he drops down into the room. He lands with finesse unsheathing his two tantos in one swift motion, looking to the three doors attached to the walls which lead to the other rooms. Nothing happens right away, not even the large gathering of chakra Kaii continues to watch reacts to his presence and loud entrance.

Her hand being forced, Anko too jumps through the hatch, landing next to Kaii as silently as possible as to not add to the commotion Kaii already made. She grabs the boy by the shoulder, dragging him to the side using one of the cabinets to hide. Not wanting to verbally chastise the genin, she smacks the back of his head, accompanying it with a glare he knows to mean she's annoyed at him. He ignores the look and the slap, prioritising the mystery of his missing summon, something he promised to not allow to happen. However, he knows he can't do anything alone and quickly yields to Anko's glare in hopes she'll act swiftly.

"Kaii..." Anko voices in hushed words. "He'll be okay I promise, if not they'll die… but let's not focus on that."

"Fine." Kaii's word are like a void, nothing shines through them other than their base meanings.

Knowing what it's like to experience battle and death in the field for the first time, Anko pushes past it. With the two back on the same page, Kaii points to the door that could inevitably lead to the room filled with chakra and by proxy their target if she is in fact here. They both launch across the room, closing the distance in between them and the door with little to no effort. Anko takes the right side while Kaii the left, the two with their backs to the wall and looking to the door. The Rakuyama rests his hand on the door handle and with a single nod from his Sensei he pushes down on the handle and forces the door inwards.

The door opens with a great deal of force, and the duo shoots through the door with their weapons drawn and poised to strike at anyone who crosses their path. To their luck two men are sat at a table, playing a game of cards with an extremely pungent smell lingering in the air around them. Without thinking Kaii lunges at the man closest to him, his tantos both ready for a kill, but as he is about to strike two kunai fly past him and embed themselves in each mans head. Both heads slam onto the table which only lodges the kunai deeper into their heads, not that they were not already dead. Blood slowly trickles out of the wounds as the small space left by the kunai stops any major waterfalls of crimson.

Kaii clicks his tongue, his first kill taken from him by his Sensei. The annoyance only lasts a second as Anko gestures to for him to show which door leads to the chakra he found. He points to the door to the left of the door they entered through, to which they both stack up against in the exact same way as before. Again Kaii pushes the door open and they both lunge into the room. Unlike before this room is empty, with only creates and a counter with a sink attached to it filling the void.

"How much further?" Anko questions, knowing that their room clearing tactic will not work on the final room.

"It's close, maybe the next room?" Kaii returns, his words still deeply stoic.

Yuta nods to Anko and receives one in return ahead of slithering down Kaii's body to the floor to allow himself room to revert to his actual size. The beast of a snake takes up position next to Kaii as the boy rests against the wall next to the door, laying in wait for Anko to decide on how to proceed into the next room. Left with little to no choice on their next actions thanks to Kaii's lack of thought, Anko joins the two against the wall on the other side of the door, ready to charge through the door. No matter what the over side has to offer.

Within a second the door swings open and Kaii rushes in, leaving Anko and Yuta behind as he charges down the barracks along one of the rows next to the beds. Each bed is filled with a single person and Kaii knows it as he passes each one, ingraining the position of the person in his head for the second pass. One he makes only eighteen seconds after the first pass, his tantos placed back in their scabbards in favour of two handfuls of kunai. Without a peep the second pass commences, each unknowing target taking a kunai to their heads. He lets the shock of the targets face etch itself on his memory as he looks back from the front of the room at his handy work.

His Sensei does the same with the second set, each in total taking out over twenty shinobi and bandits in a drastically short amount of time. The beds each turn crimson, blood seeping into the fabrics and wood and eventually onto the floor. The trio pace across the room, their sandals, and Yuta's scales soak up the blood from the dead. Kaii's face is dark, emotionless as if the actions he's performed means nothing to him, unlike the interloper's death. They each reach the other side of the room, doing the same as before and stacking up at the door. While doing so Kaii, in his state, elects to activate his sensory ability.

"Anko-sensei." The words are cold, but they do as intended and gain Anko's attention. "This room was not the one I saw, but the chakra has vanished… or dissipated. I don't know which but these people were nothing more than bait."

"What? You've got to be kidding, there's no way… oh shit, Kaii run." Anko looks confused at first but something inside her clicks.

For a second Kaii looks at her, his chakra sensing still active, until the sound of kunai implanting into a wall fills the air. At the exact same time, both Anko and Kaii leap across the room as a huge explosion takes the wall from existence and replaces it with a large crater and hole filled with shinobi and their target, Kudou Kanna. The kunoichi appears slender, with long black pants and a long-sleeved black top. Over which rests a grey Kiri flak jacket with shoulder protectors. On both hands rest fingerless gloves and to finish off her attire is a pair of blue shinobi sandals. Unable to move quick enough Yuta is caught in the blast and is thrown to his master's feet, slightly charred and in worse shape because of it.

"So, we finally meet my newest pursuers? You got further than the rest and for that I applaud you, but I'm afraid you'll not be breathing for much longer." The duo's target gloats with a short cackle before looking to her men and gesturing for them to attack.

Four of the shinobi attack, with weapons ranging from ninjatos to kunai, close the space between the two groups. Of the two Konoha-nin, Anko is the first to act as she holds her arm out to her side and looks right at two of the oncoming attackers. Just as they enter arms reach Anko flips over the top of them, targeting them with her arm which she directs at them. At that very second, a group of grey and brown snakes lunge out of her sleeve, their fangs poised to strike at the neck of the shinobi. All of the snakes land their hits on the neck and shoulders of the two attackers, killing them near instantly.

While Anko dealt with her two, Kaii and Yuta stood their ground, Kaii with his redrawn tantos in his signature 'X' shape in front of him while Yuta coils around him loosely and opens his maw. The first attacker uses the long reach of his ninjato to slash at the black snake, hoping to deal a lethal blow to the trio. The attack hits the onyx scales and to his surprise goes no further. Yuta fixes his gaze onto the man, who again tries to achieve a lethal blow on the rigid scales to no avail. Growing tired of the weak attacks, Yuta changes his position, coiling around the shinobi with little time wasted, but unlike with his partner, he uses his body to constrict the life out of the man. Kaii acts as Yuta uncoils himself lunging at the last shinobi, with his tantos now at his sides. The man smiles as he enters a short exchange of strikes with the boy, parrying each slash with his lone kunai in hand.

The exchange lasts only a few moments before the attacker pushes back and attempts to land a blow on Kaii's throat to end the fight with little effort. The attack narrowly misses its target as Kaii catches the path of the attack and is able to contort himself out of the way, only to lose his balance and stumble over one of the blood-soaked beds. At the same time, his tantos slip of his hands as a result of the blood splashing over him as he fell. He hits the floor hard rolling back up to his feet as the attacker again ready his kunai for the boy's throat. Seeing his partner in peril Yuta finishes off the shinobi he's coiled around, shattering every bone in the man's body and rupturing all of his organs with a blood-curdling crunch and squelch.

Not even a second passes as the kunai inches ever closer to Kaii's throat as time slows as he believes his last moment is nowhere. At the last second, the man roars in pain and the metal twang of a kunai hitting the floor fills the area around Kaii. His eyes lock onto the large snakehead over the man's shoulder, blood slowly running down his front, Yuta had bitten over the man's shoulder and punctured one of the shinobi's organs. The young Rakuyama's breaths begin to become laboured and sweat rolls down his temples, he barely escaped death a second time due to his own inadequacies in combat compared to the needs of the mission he's on.

Another wave of shinobi launch themselves at the trio as Anko, for a moment, allows her concentration to laspe to make sure her genin is alright. Much to her surprise, the second wave is far stronger and faster than the first and as such, are able to land a single blow on the side of her leg which results in a small cut. After which all of the attackers return to Kanna's side and place their weapons away. Confused, Anko tries to move but finds that her limbs won't do as she wants. Every attempt ends the same and after the fifth, she falls to her knees and drops her kunai, helpless she looks at Kanna who slowly strides across the room. Her student and his partner both fall back to her flanks, once there they enter a defensive battle stance with Kaii wielding his kusarigama as his tantos lay in the blood.

Seeing the two defend the kunoichi Kanna laughs heartily, a smirk forming on her face at the pitiful display before her. Her advance continues towards to the trio, taking her sweet time to instil fear in the already on edge genin and his partner. Each step in the blood creates ripples in the water, ripples which continue to expand until each one is disturbed by Kaii's feet and Yuta's body. The sound of metal sliding over metal fills the almost silent room as Kanna unsheaths a lone tanto.

"You should run _boy_ , if the famous Mitarashi Anko can't withstand my special poison, then the likes of you will have no chance." Her tone is dark and filled with confidence in her abilities, one obviously earned if her claims about the poison are true.

"Where's Gaidoku! What did you do with him!" Kaii's emotions finally find an outlet and pour themselves out, his aura darkening as a result.

For a second the woman stares blankly at the boy, wondering what he's talking about. "Ah, you must mean this little thing."

Upon finishing her sentence she pulls out an unusual kunai, which is seemingly impaled on a long black snake. She throws the kunai and it sails between Kaii and Yuta while directly over the head of the still paralyzed Anko. Kaii follows the kunai as it flies and embeds itself in the wooden wall behind him. He looks it over and over, hoping the reality of the situation is not as it seems and that his summon is alive and well. However, reality sets in and Kaii release a roar of anger, his mind clouding over as he whips around to face Kanna again. His eyes flicker for a moment, his sclera darkening then changing back to normal. Yuta is the only one to catch it, though he says nothing as he knows what it means and that would only worry Anko further.

Kaii tries to vocalize his feelings but he fails as only roars of pain exit his mouth. Unable to come to terms with his failings and all of his emotions he's repressed, he locks Kanna in his glare and launches at her. His hastes towards Kanna furthers his blindness to her movements as he finds the closer he gets the further away she seems. Until all around him clouds into darkness, with the only visible thing being a grey mist that he cannot seem to exit or even touch. Instead of stopping and trying to figure out what is happening, he elects to wail his kusarigama around, throwing the sickle into the darkness and mist in hopes of hitting something or someone.

Without warning a volley of kunai speed out of the darkness, all aimed directly at him. Kaii sees them, recalling the sickle of his weapon to use it to deflect them, but he finds that he's unable to do it fast enough and two of the kunai impales his left shin and right upper arm respectively. Other then a slight recoil at the initial impact, Kaii's mind ignores the pain and tries to pinpoint the origin of the attack. He spins on his heel, looking in every direction as blood slowly sleeps from the shin wound with each turn. No matter where he looks he finds nothing at all.

"To think the student of Mitarashi Anko would be so pathetic." Kanna comments, her voice like a whisper in the wind to the enraged Kaii.

Kaii roars in anger again, as he again charges at the mist hoping it finally leads to the target and the revenge for his summon. Yet, it does not and for his trouble, he receives another volley of kunai, with another three finding their mark on the top right of his chest, his left shoulder and just above his waist. Again he recoils at the impacts but is yet to acknowledge the pain they are causing him, his sole focus Kanna.

His grip on his weapon begins to wane as his strength is sapped from him, his vision starts to blur and his whole body sways. A laugh echoes through the void, helping Kaii retain his focus and correct his swaying and vision, but before he can quell his anger a figure appears before him. The figure launches at him and lands one solid hit in the centre of his being, sending him flying into the soaring darkness, but instead of flying forever he lands hard on something. His back taking the brunt of the impact before his head snaps back and connects with the object forcing his conscious to leave his body.

"Well Anko, it seems you failed to teach your genin correctly, and he's paid the price. He couldn't even see through a simple genjutsu." Kanna laughs loudly at her proclamation as Anko watches helplessly and Yuta is suspended in a prison of crimson liquid.

Anko watches defenseless from her crouched position as her target saunters up to her front methodically with her tanto by her side. Crossing the room takes little to no time and before she knows it Kanna's tanto is at her throat, poised to cut it at a moments notice. Yuta, however, squires around in the crimson bubble, unable to breathe or escape his fate. All of this while Kaii was trapped in a genjutsu, altering his perception through his anger ridden state.

Resting against the walls with blood flowing down his body Kaii hears a voice. 'Pitiful child… to think you're of mine own blood.' The voice resonates around his mind, never stopping as it repeats for what feels like an age to the young Rakuyama. 'This once my child, I shall help you… release the seal and let thine real self through.'

Kanna ready to slit the Konoha-nin's throat takes a moment to look at the genin she already defeated. When she looks at him, she falls back. The once-defeated boy whose wounds are grave and his mind is shattered is stood with his eyes closed. The kunai that were once pierced into his skin lay on the floor with small amounts of blood on the end of them. The wounds, however, are gone, not even the blood that spilt out of them remains. His hair is the only thing that is seemingly bleeding, yet it's not crimson red blood but an onyx black blood that stains his hair black from the once pure white.

A few moments pass as Kanna processes what she's witnessing, however, before she can Kaii's eyes shoot open to reveal a change. His sclera is now a dark grey and his eyes remain golden in colour but his pupils are no longer that of a human, they are that of a snake.

"You've pushed this boy too far, Kudou Kanna." A voice escapes Kaii's maw, but not his, no it's far more sinister.

 


	10. Chapter X

Kudou Kanna's hideout 04:51 | Tuesday 20th Mar 13 aNb | Land of Fire

The crimson filled room remains silent and all present look on in awe at the figure at the end of the room. The aura he emits sets them on the edge and his changing appearance frightens the once so confident Kudou Kanna. Her subordinates are far worse off, most on the verge of breaking rank and fleeing just from the intent alone, but before a single one can act the figure disappears from sight. All look around, finding nothing but slight disturbances in the crimson pools of blood around their feet. This continues for over five minutes before Kanna is able to break herself out of her fear-ridden state.

"Stop gawking at nothing and defend yourselves!" Kanna orders as she pulls out a mask from her a pouch on her belt.

The six shinobi mirror her actions after a second, placing the masks onto their faces before redrawing their respective weapons. Each takes up positions around their leader while keeping tabs on the movements of the ripples in the blood. Without any sound to warn one of the unsuspecting shinobi, Kaii appears behind him, his eyes burning with a deep rage. The shinobi tries to act but finds both of his arms in a vice-like grip and pulled backwards, a lone foot rests on his back as his arms are pulled out of their sockets with a crack. Unhappy with the result he continues to pull at them as those around simply watch, knowing their teammate is doomed and this gives them a chance to gauge the new threat.

The shinobi cries out in pain as both of his arms are torn from his body and dropped right behind him. Before he can fully react to his arms being ripped from him, a set of hands find themselves around his neck. The loud snap of the man's neck echoes around the room, creating further distance between the attackers and Kaii. Kanna finds herself one man down, not an ideal situation against an opponent with an unknown amount of power at his fingertips.

Kanna clicks her tongue, the display of strength before her leaves no other option but a drastic measure to ensure her own life. From the same pouch, she produced the mask she pulls out a vial like object and holds it up to her eye, seemingly to check the contents. Content with what she's pulled out she turns her gaze to Kaii, whose skin has darkened to a dark grey, before dropping the vial onto the ground. The vial shatters on impact with the ground, with the liquid immediately turning into a cloud of green-ish smoke that begins to take all of the space in the room.

As the smoke does this, Kaii turns to face Kanna, a sick grin plasters over his features which reveals his elongated canines. Seeing this his target uses the smoke to hide herself, using the Rakuyamas own strategy against him, and her bodyguards. They continually move around the small space with only the crimson pools truly allowing Kaii to track them… or so they think. A death rattle is heard only a few moments after the gas truly fills the room, with a second, third and fourth coming not long afterwards. As time passes without either Kanna or her subordinate finding or even landing a single blow on the lowly genin begins to get to the missing-nin. Her mind starts to race at ways to survive, one of her special poisons did nothing but create a void in which Kaii could eliminate all but one of her men.

With time running out, Kanna rushes to create a new plan. "Get rid of the smoke dammit!"

"Got it." The single remaining shinobi confirms, creating the hand seals for a basic wind jutsu, which he releases on the smoke revealing Kaii directly in front of him.

Kaii's form has changed again, his skin is scaly and has grown darker to match his grey sclera. His hair is now fully stained onyx black and it has grown to a messy medium length with spikes defining the messiness. At either side of the back of his head just behind his ears, four horns protrude between his hair and share the same colour as his scaly skin. A dark aura rests closely to his skin, barely visible to the naked eye but to a shinobi, it's akin to a thin chakra cloak. His actual cloak falls to the floor, exposing his worn out long sleeved coat, which has a deep crimson tint from the amount of blood he's soaked up.

"What the hell are you!" Kanna shouts at the boy, her speech riddled with fear just like her whole demeanour.

"Kudou Kanna, this boy is a Rakuyama… though I wouldn't expect you to know of them, but I shall regale you with their tale. They are the only clan in shinobi history to forge an everlasting bond with one of the sage regions, and as such, I entrusted them with a gift that only they could carry the burden of." The same sinister voice escapes Kaii's maw, his own nowhere to be heard. "This child, when he awakes shall cause untold carnage… but I believe I've had my fill in his stead." He holds his arms out to the sides, gesturing to the horribly disfigured and limbless bodies that surround them. "Rakuyama Kaii, take ahold of your consciousness and rid the world of thine enemies!"

For a moment, Kaii's eyes fall shut and his body falls to its knees. At the sight, Kanna laughs thinking she's outlasted the boy's sudden power increase and that her day's trails have come to an end. With a slow exhale the kunoichi returns her attention to Anko… or at least she will if she's able to find her. The poison should have killed her or at the very least made it impossible to recover from the first poison. Slightly angered at the lack of a hostage, she sighs and looks to where she left the large snake, but he too is gone along with the crimson bubble he was in.

Seeing his boss about to blow with anger, the subserving shinobi asks for an order. "Kanna-sama, what do you want me to do?"

"Find them while I kill the boy, I can't have him get back up after the first display." Kanna seethes, strutting over to the boy with her tanto visibly shaking in her hand.

A solemn nod of acceptance comes from the shinobi before disappearing in a cloud of thick white smoke. With nothing else standing in her way Kanna crouches next to Kaii's kneelings body. He shows no signs of life as the kunoichi grabs his slightly longer hair, pulling his head in all directions to take a look at his face. Her anger turns into a sadistic smile as she brings her tanto to his throat, the blade resting carefully on the boy's neck. In the next second two things occur, first being the blade running across Kaii's neck creating a small waterfall of crimson from the shallow wound, second, the shinobi returns with Anko under his arm. The man smiles as he places his captive down before holding her head up to watch as her genin's blood runs down his front.

Anko's eyes widen, her mouth starts to quiver as she can do nothing but watch her genin die right in front of her. Kanna lets go of the boy's thick black hair as blood spits out of the wound and stands herself up to look to her shinobi. Her smiles only widen as she sees her other prisoner prime for their death. A simple gesture is enough for the shinobi to hold up Anko's head to reveal her throat. With a deep sense of pride, Kanna methodically paces over to Anko, her blade still stained with the crimson blood of her first kill today.

"Dear Anko, I'm glad you have finally broken. It makes this moment so much sweater for me personally, I mean it's not every day you make a famous kunoichi shed a tear, is it?" Kanna laughs maniacally at the very notion. "Take one last look at his corpse before I finish you off, would you?"

Reluctantly, Anko is forced to look at the boy's body, but instead of the crimson waterfall that once ran down his front, there's no blood other than the drying blood on his coat. For a second the shinobi looks to Kaii too but misses this small detail as he continues to hold up Anko's head for his boss. The still dripping tanto is brought up to Anko's throat and is placed in the exact same place as before. Just as Kanna readies to slice the kunoichi's throat, a black snake quickly lunges at her from her periphery, an attack she barely dodges ahead of landing next to Kaii's body.

The next moment is filled with confusion and blood as the second Kanna's feet touch the ground Kaii roars awake, his eyes shoot open and a thick wave of chakra explodes from the boy's body. The wave sends all in its path backwards with the force of a thousand men, burning all who come into contact with it with Kanna taking the brunt, her skin smouldering at the exposure. The force propels her across the room and into the far fall, her body making contact with a deep crack before she falls helplessly to the floor. All others in the room were far luckier, Anko in the last second had the assistance of Yuta who coiled around her to protect her from the force but the heat still seeped through causing minor burns. The last shinobi suffered a similar fate to his master, as the wave passed him creating a few minor burns while pushing him into the wall behind him and along with it until the wave loses its strength.

Kaii's roar eventually dies down, his mental state becoming somewhat stable as he rises slowly to his feet. The black chakra coating around his skin flows around like water as he takes slow steps in the direction of Kanna. Watching from the sidelines, Yuta takes in every detail of his partner's new state… his true state while he uncoils his body from Anko who also looks to the slowly advancing genin. For the first time, she takes in Kaii's new appearance, his new wealth of power that emits from him for all, even non-sensors, to feel. The longer she watches, the more a feeling of worry and fear starts to settle into her soul. This feeling is one she refuses to ignore and begins to try and move her body, yet her limbs refuse to cooperate with her. Even with the feeling returning it means she still has to sit and watch while a genin faces an easily A/B-rank Jonin missing-nin.

The young Rakuyama stops just shy of three meters away from the missing-nin, shaking his head before looking at Kanna's slow rise. "Yuta… kill the shinobi." His own voice returns, but it has changed, it's no longer a young and innocent tone but one filled with malice and bitterness. "Anko-sensei… are you okay?"

Yuta hisses in agreement as he slithers away from the kunoichi towards the shinobi, Anko, however, cannot take her eyes off of her student. "I've been better, but what the hell happened to you?"

"I… don't know. I heard a voice and then… it all became blurred." Kaii returns, resuming his stride to the now kneeling Kanna. "One thing is clear though… this woman deserves death above all here."

The kunoichi tires to crawl away, using all of her remaining strength to power through the pain of her second-degree burns. Kaii slowly and methodically follows her, taking each step with great precision as to not disrupt the crimson pools at his feet. The slow chase goes on for a good minute as the sound of screaming from the last shinobi echoes around the room. His death rattles creating the backdrop for the missing-nin's last moments. Another minute elapses before Kanna reaches a door, a door leading out of the room and into god knows where. She tries to reach for the handle, hoping she can escape with her life intact, but it is not to be. The void like chakra that surrounds Kaii travels along his arms and down to his forearms where it begins to shape itself into a new form. That form resembles a snake or at least an ethereal one made solely of chakra. From the first snake forms another and another until it is akin to the Hidden Shadow Snake Hand jutsu.

The snakes act freely, edging their way to the fleeing kunoichi as one by one they coil around different parts of her body. Two find themselves around each leg and the same for her arms, stopping her dead in her tracks ahead of lifting her body up into the air directly in front of the still calm Kaii. They position her eye level with the genin, a sign of her defeat and a way for the boy to taunt her, or deal the final blow while maintaining eye contact. For a moment he allows time to pass, awaiting a response from the missing-nin, one he fails to get. Tired of waiting Kaii reaches out and takes hold of the woman's chin, moving her head from side to side to see the burns that now occupy most of her skin.

Kaii props her head up and with his other arm directs a swift strike into her gut, forcing her out of her broken state. She locks gazes with Kaii's, her eyes filled with misery and regret amongst many others as she looks to her own demise. Two further ethereal snakes form from the boy's chakra cloak, but unlike the others these form from two completely random positions on his body. The first from his lower stomach and the other from his right shoulder, both of which slither through the air to the missing-nins neck before making ready to strike. Kanna resigns herself to her fate and makes her final choice, that choice being to muster any remaining strength to spit on Kaii.

The act creates a sick smile on the boys face, one followed by two strikes by the ethereal snakes on Kanna's neck, ending her miserable life. Blood from the wounds begins to flow from down the woman's neck, some, however, course through the ethereal snake's bodies and deeper into the shinobi's dark chakra cloak. After a few moments, blood refuses to enter the ethereal snake's maws and as such they finally relinquish their grip on the kunoichi's neck, leaving only the marks from their fangs. The blood flows around Kaii's chakra cloak before eventually dispersing into the crimson pools below him.

As soon as Kanna's body hits the floor, Kaii's eyes roll up into his head and his chakra cloak fades. As a result, he falls backwards, landing hard in the crimson puddle, his consciousness once again no longer with him.

* * *

Konoha General Hospital Trauma Wing 13:38 | Monday 2nd April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

The hustle and bustle of Konoha's lone hospital fills every inch of the building, from caring for injured shinobi to the vast population of civilians. However, the top floor is reserved for extreme cases, injuries that if they were with others attending the hospital it could create all kinds of problems. It's known to the shinobi who are unfortunate enough to be taken there as the trauma wing and to the civilians as the shinobi wing as they've only ever seen shinobi enter. Though they've never seen many leave the place, yet it always has an intake of stretchers.

Just to the right of the lone stairwell that has access to the top floor, is the Third Hokage in his usual formal white robe and his Kage hat adorned with the kanji for 'Fire'. Accompanying him is a purple-haired kunoichi with a long tan overcoat, a fitted mesh body suit that goes from her neck to her thighs and an orange skirt. She wears a look of worry, though as to why is not evident to those who'd look upon her. The Hokage, however, dons a stoic outlook, puffing on his pipe as he stands idly seemingly awaiting something. That something soon makes itself known to the pair of shinobi by approaching them and bowing with the due respect. After a moment the woman finishes her bow and awaits a question or instructions. Her attire is that of a standard Konoha Chunin, but in place of a flak jacket is a white apron with a few splatters of blood and other liquids.

Hiruzen looks over the woman, a member of the Medic Corp. "Yaguchi Azumi, how is the boy doing?"

Azumi gestures for both shinobi to follow as she starts to explain. "I don't know Hokage-sama… the woman won't allow us to diagnose anything… we're lucky if she lets us even a metre near the boy. We've had to employ a seal array made by Jiraiya-hakase to dampen the killing intent she lets off when we try to enter. If it's not her it's that damned purple snake, near took my head off a few days ago, and I didn't even try to do anything that time."

The elder shinobi's hand twitches at the news, one he ignores but the two kunoichi do not. "I understand, please leave Anko and I once we arrive at the room. We shall talk to Kuroyuri-san ourselves."

A curt nod acknowledges her Kage's orders as they climb the stairs to the 'trauma wing' of the hospital. The two shinobi keep a small distance behind the medic-nin as she shows them through the hallways in the trauma wing. Medic-nin's fill the halls, each with varying degrees of blood down their fronts and in various moods as they tend to the some of the worst injuries since the last Shinobi War. However, with all of the blood and shinobi who rest injured, the ward is silent, nothing other then the medic-nin's themselves conversing in the halls can be heard. No screams of agony, no wails of pain and curses at the medics operating on them.

Hiruzen and Anko follow the medic-nin to a room at the furthest end of the singular hallway, the door itself has no room number or even the name of the patient on it. The two ninja share a look, both agreeing on Anko to take the lead as they push into the room. A long creak echoes as the door is pushed inwards which is soon joined by a slight humming of what can only be chakra use. The hum is then accompanied by a faint purple glow in the dim room as Anko opens the last few inches of the door. The room is sparse, basically empty other than a lone bed and chair next to it, a few medical monitors and machines but nothing else. Three figures can be seen in the room, one rests in the bed with a second sat in the chair in front of it while the last lies on the floor, coiled on itself.

"Leave us." Hiruzen's voice booms as he takes his first step into the room, leaving the medic-nin to close the door behind them.

With the door now shut, both Anko and Hiruzen feel a cold chill creep up their spines, their bodies stiffen as the chill reaches their minds. Both know the sensation well, but neither was expecting such a strong reaction from their visit. The lack of light creates little issue for the two as they inch closer to the bed and the three figures, one of which fixes its gaze onto them. Their eyes digging deep as its own killing intent lords over them, like a predator waiting for a reason to lash out. Though it's threat does little to stop either from approaching the bed, the first figure sprawled out on it with various pads and wires attached to him.

"Kuroyuri-san, how is the boy?" Hiruzen asks, his tone politer then most would expect from a Kage to those under him.

Kuroyuri turns to match his gaze, her eyes filled with sadness and rage. "He's stable, no thanks to that damned mission you sent him on. His seal, however, is broken..." Her words trail off into nothingness as she returns her gaze to Kaii's body.

Anko attempts to offer up something, anything but is stopped by her Kage. "Let the medic-nin's see to him, Kuroyuri-san. They could help if you'd let-"

"No one can help him but his own!" The elder Rakuyama snaps, her killing intent spiking as she does so. "I alone will see to his aid, and when I think he's ready to return to duty, then you can see him."

"Kuroyuri-san, he's not just your son anymore, he's a shinobi of the Leaf. You will keep me updated, understood?" Hiruzen orders, his own intent matching the woman's as to not be mistaken. "Anko-san, stay here for now. I believe you have something you wish to say anyway and I am needed elsewhere."

Before Anko can object to being left alone with Kuroyuri, Hiruzen disappears out of the cold room. Silence takes ahold of the room as neither shinobi look at or even near one another, only the snake, Risa, has her gaze firmly on Anko. The purple haired kunoichi tries to talk, but no words can find their way past a newly formed lump in her throat. Without her words, Anko feels useless and simply a burden to the one person helping the unconscious boy. The room keeps this scene for an entire hour as neither party wanted to start the conversation, though only one really desired to talk. As the time passes the ever-present intent wanes and retreats into Kuroyuri, her anger cooling leaving Anko feeling ever better and the lump finally diminishes.

"Kuroyuri-san, I-" Anko tries to speak, her words eventually finding their way out before she is cut off.

"How?" Is the lone word that quiets the room again, yet that one word conveys a heart full of emotion.

Anko recoils slightly in confusion, her mind not really clicking as to what she's being asked. "What do you mean, Kuroyuri-san? How, what?"

"How did this happen? Why was my son inches from death on your watch? How did you fail to protect your sole genin? That would be a start." Kuroyuri seethes as the chakra glow fades and the room slowly returns to darkness.

The words carve themselves into Anko's mind, slowly and methodically repeating in her mind as she tries to come up with the answers asked of her. "I… I… I failed you Kuroyuri-san. The target was listed as a C-rank, but well someone gave crap intel and turns out she was a shinobi. I was worried after his first real fight, he nearly died then and there. I contemplated retreating and going alone to find the target… yet I felt compelled to take him with me so I could watch him."

The woman stands from her seat and turns on her heels to lock eyes with the Jonin-sensei, her purple eyes burning with an intense passion. "A noble notion, Anko-san. Tell me how you failed to do so, hm? What stopped an A-rank Jonin, famed student of the Snake Sannin himself, from protecting a single genin from some trash missing-nin? From a gutter rat that can do no better than prey on bandits and civilians?"

"He wasn't thinking and rushed in. I can only do so much Kuroyuri-san, I'm not Hokage-sa-" For the second time, the Rakuyama refuses to allow Anko to finish.

"That may be the case, but you knew full well what would happen if he experiences such stress this early. You knew this would happen and even with that, you allowed him to, not once but thrice, face the razor's edge of death. The seal shattered because he had no other option, so tell me how you let that happened? I care little for anything else." The kunoichi's eyes shift, her pupil contorting from the norm to slits.

"Poison… I was poisoned when I let my guard down to check on my him and his partner." Anko answers with her head hung low to the floor, not wanting to look her student's mother in the eyes.

"Ah, so _he_ failed to build your resistance to that of a snakes then?" Kuroyuri's tone changes sharply, the once venomous anger turns to intrigue. "Perhaps Koshiro-sama was wrong about that man's power and foresight."

With the room returning to normal, Anko breathes easier, pushing away her failure as she uses the stressless environment to ask a question of her own. "Who's Koshiro-sama?"

Kuroyuri ignores the question for a moment, electing to continue her own train of thought. Running the thought back through her mind over and over, wondering what Koshiro saw in the Snake Sannin even after his acts became public knowledge. Why his power was always considered legendary to the clan head and why such foresight was to be followed like the word of a Kage.

After a minute or so, Kuroyuri looks to Anko and crosses her arms. "He's the leader of the Rakuyama clan and currently the protector of Ryuchi Cave and it's secrets. To put it simply he's answers to the White Snake itself. Oh, and he's my father."

The conversation dies down, both processing the information they have gained. With silence now taking over for a good half hour, the room resting in a void-like state as neither have anything to add or to say. Another six minutes pass with Kuroyuri resting back in her seat and Anko stood next to her, the two back on cordial terms now that everything is in the open. Though Kuroyuri would never admit it, she feels at fault for Kaii's affliction, her refusal to explain the seals in their entirety to the boy even if it is clan mandate to do so.

Out of nowhere, Kuroyuri performs a set of hand seals and upon their completion places her hand over Kaii in the style of a medical ninjutsu. The same chakra glow returns with it flowing out of her hands and into the boy's body at a steady pace. Anko simply watches on while taking in every detail of the jutsu the Rakuyama is performing, like what purpose does the chakra have and is it the same as the ritual Kaii performs on himself before training?

Before either question can answer itself the boy moves, his eyes sluggishly open and his form rises up from the bed with help from his arms. He looks around the room, resting his gaze on his mother then Anko and finally Risa who unlike the others gives him a look of annoyance. Mostly for wasting her time worrying about him when she could be doing nothing and lounging on her favourite sofa.

"Okaa-san? Anko-sensei? Where am I?" The words leave Kaii's mouth

lethargically with his gaze landing and staying with his mother.

"You're in Konoha Kaii-chan, you've been unconscious for a while now and we weren't sure you'd ever wake up." Tears fill the Rakuyamas eyes and all the anger she held inside vanishes. "Don't move too much, we don't know exactly how well you are."

To the surprise of the two kunoichi and snake in his presence, Kaii runs a hand through his onyx hair while flinging his legs off the bed. "I'm fine Okaa-san, I promise. Just a little confused at what happened and how I got here. Last I can remember is the barracks of Kudou Kanna's hideout… and… and the de-dead bodies each stained a deep crimson." Kaii's features change, his mind reliving the events again as he hunches over and stares blankly at the floor. "I nearly died..."

Kuroyuri rests a hand on the boy's shoulder while also lending her reassuring intent to ease his pain, her own head sinking until her gaze locks with the floor. The two share the moment as the boy tries to see past the images ingrained in his mind and push forward. However, Anko keeps back and lets the Rakuyamas be, having already done what she can and failed horribly to prevent it. The embrace continues for a few moments with Kuroyuri breaking the embrace to look her son in the eyes. Seeing his head still sunk she places a hand on his cheek, moving his head up to face her own.

"Hush now little one, Anko and I will make sure it never happens again. Now, please turn around Kaii-chan and show me your back." A level of cheerfulness emits from Kuroyuri as she whips a fresh tear from the boy's face.

Unable to look away Kaii concedes and pushes himself off of the bed before he turns around. The elder Rakuyama scans his back, looking for the first time in detail at what scars he could have obtained. Unlike his front, there are none, no slight scratch, no entrance wound from a projectile. It's completely fine, but that concerns the kunoichi as if his seal broke his back would have extensive burns all around the upper part and slightly less severe ones on the lower half. The seal, however, has changed, just like before when he gained control over a portion of the seal, the rest has changed to mimic the first quarter. Once two seals they find themselves intertwined and 'complete', much akin to her own seal.

"Anko, tell me something." Kuroyuri voices, gaining the attention of the kunoichi who silently chastises herself for being unable to help. "What did you see when Kaii… well, you know."

The secretive tone the woman takes concerns Anko slightly. 'Can keeping the boy in the dark help him?' her mind's questions as it searches for the answer but ends up failing to yield anything. "It was in the report, the one you read, Kuroyuri-san."

"Then he's ready to be released, train him just as hard Anko-san." Kuroyuri's words distract from their true meanings, he's not ready but she cannot reverse what's been done. "Kaii-chan, when we get home we need to talk, okay?" Anko nods to the kunoichi before sending a smile towards her genin as she quietly leaves the small room, all while Kaii sighs deeply.

"Yes, Okaa-san." Kaii drones out as he full well expects a long lecture, one he really wants to avoid.

The sound of a slap resonates around the tiny room as Kaii holds the side of his head with newly formed tears in his eyes. "Don't sass me, Kaii."

If snakes could laugh Risa would be wailing at the scene before her, not an hour ago her master was enraged at her son's fate. Yet now she's openly joking and acting the same as usual. With that Kaii places his clothes on after picking them up off of a small table next to his bed, sliding each one on quickly as to get out of there as soon as he can. His mother rests in her chair as he does, thinking about how she's going to hide his true self while also explaining it to him.

* * *

Rakuyama Residence 21:02 | Monday 2nd April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

The two Rakuyama's land softly in front of their humble home, a small house nearest to one of the larger groups of training grounds. The elder of the two taking the lead and opening the small brown door with little issue as no shinobi lock their doors as it would be a fruitless endeavour. With the door, open Risa slithers off of her partner's shoulder and reverts to her usual size, glad she had a ride and didn't have to exert her own effort. She makes her way to the front room as both Rakuyamas follow suit, with the smaller of the two lagging behind slightly locked deep in his thoughts.

Kuroyuri immediately takes off her coat and sandals, prompting her son to do the same before they too slide into the front room to sit upon the sofa. By the time Kaii joins his mother Risa is already sprawled across the back lazily, her head resting idly while gazing at the boy. He takes up the seat at the end of the couch, sitting with his legs crossed up on the sofa before leaning back to mimic the snake and get comfortable. He waits patiently for his mother, though how could he not if what she said on the way home, he'd have died without her. The lack of memory of what she told him about, irks him to his core, only feeding off of his emotions and feeling of inadequacies.

It feels like an eternity to the boy before his mother finally takes her seat next to him. She takes a deep breath before turning her attention to him, a look of seriousness mixed with a wave of reassurance. The latter to help keep him calm for the upcoming talk.

"Kaii-chan, do you remember anything? I know you said you didn't… but I need you to dig deep for me okay?" Kuroyuri begins with the hardest thing for him to do, a task even she's worried could cause him to relapse.

Unexpectedly, Kaii feels fine and simply makes eye contact. "Nothing, Okaa-san." The surprise he gave her is hidden well. "Nothing, but the those I killed will enter my mind, will it last forever?" The boy's tone is emotionless as he asks a question of his own.

Kuroyuri's hearts skip a beat at the query made by her son. "Yes." She pauses for a moment as a long sigh exits her lips. "It'll never go. You'll see their faces every time you sleep or dream for even a moment. You just get used to it and in the end, you get over it… but it never goes."

The boy doesn't react, his aura, however, reacts for him as it darkness as if he's resigned to his future of sleepless nights. The two leave let an air of silence reign over the room for a while. Each collecting their respective thoughts, Kaii simply trying to repress the memories while Kuroyuri decides what to discuss next.

The elder Rakuyama settles on the topic, thinking it an easy transition. "Kaii-chan, do you know why you can't remember anything?"

"No, I don't Okaa-san." Kaii voices letting his head sink a little.

"I thought as much. I was going to let you know what your seal did at the Chunin Exam, as you know, but now is far more prudent. Kaii-chan, your seal ruptured and that is what caused your blackout." Kuroyuri chooses her words carefully, not letting the boy know more then she can tell him.

The revelation creates a small spark in Kaii, though it's completely suffocated by the shadows in his mind. "My seal… broke? Then how am I still alive, Okaa-san?"

"That would be because our seal breaking does not kill a Rakuyama, Kaii-chan. It's the power it contains that can kill us if we are not ready to use it. It holds back our true selves, to hide us from those who'd hunt us and allow us to grow into the power steadily." The elder woman explains steadily, taking a small break before she continues. "With the seal in its current state, you'll need to quadruple your training, understood?"

"Yes, Okaa-san," Kaii answers lifelessly, his mind still elsewhere as he picks himself up out of the chair and slithers over to the front door. "Okaa-san, where is Yuta?"

The woman follows the boy as he moves. "Upstairs in your room, I'm sure he'll want to know how you are… and if you need to talk Kaii-chan, I'm here as well." The last few words are slightly quieter than the rest, but the impact is there.

With that, the boy changes his plan and heads up the stairs. Once at his room he swings the door inwards to find a sleeping Yuta coiled up neatly on his pillow, his head resting neatly on the length of his body. Kaii saunters slowly over to the snake, sitting carefully on the bed next to the creature. The two stay like that for a while, Kaii knowing Yuta hardly gets much sleep as it is and if he's been out for as long as he's been told the poor snake must of only just got to sleep.

An hour in all passes before Kaii places a lone hand on the snake's thick black body, the coldness of the scales creating goosebumps on his arm. As his hand lays on the snake it begins to rouse. The warmth of his partner's body heat is what he needed to ease the worries Yuta's had of late. His eyes slowly open, the golden yellow irises scanning the boy next to him, checking for any discrepancies since he last saw him.

"Glad you're feeling better, Kaii." Yuta hisses quietly, still waking from his slumber. "I expect you are eager to get busy, would I be correct?"

Kaii just nods as he mentally prepares to leave. Yuta uncoils himself while he waits, slithering over the bed to the windowsill and with no difficulty opens the window. Now ready, Kaii hops off of his bed to pick up his weapons, which during his stay in the hospital had been left to rest on his desk that stands in the corner of his room. Both tanto's and the kusarigama look freshly maintained, no doubt his mother knew he would want to get right back to training after leaving the hospital.

He sheathes them quickly and leaps across his room to the windowsill before waiting for his snake partner to shift to his smaller self. Yuta, after only a moment, is now resting on Kaii's shoulder as the boy launches out of the window with a great amount of vigour, happy to be back to what he likes doing. The air rustles his hair, the rush of running over the rooftops empties his mind of all of his memories, if only for a moment. After an hour of simply exercising over the top of Konoha, he finally changes his movement from least effort to maximum effort and heads towards the training fields.

 


	11. Chapter XI

Training Field 18 23:36 | Monday 2nd April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

The Rakuyama and his partner land in a lone clearing. The clearing often frequented by them in Training Field 18, but not the one used by them and Anko, no this one is far more secluded. A small portion of the forest that even the best Genin and Chunin could get lost in. Of the two only Yuta looks even remotely rested and one had spent the last two weeks completely out of it, while the other worried relentlessly. No matter the small serpent slithers off of Kaii's shoulder and down to the ground, letting the jutsu go that reduces his size. The Genin does the same and sits himself onto the ground, crossing his legs and relaxing his entire body.

As Kaii relaxes himself, Yuta slides over to his front and coils around his own body, resting his head on his body to keep an eye on the boy. Just like clockwork, the Rakuyama envelopes his whole body in his muted grey chakra. The chakra flows around him before finally entering his seal as it has many times before. The whole process is laboured, longer than usual and the sweat falling down Kaii's temples indicates as such. In total, the two spend over three hours in the small clearing before the shallow glow of the grey chakra fades and Kaii lets out a small breathe. A short period of laboured breathing passes before the two. Kaii still sweating heavily from the exertion of the training, but one he's missed.

"Yuta… do you know what happened to me?" Out of nowhere Kaii looks to his partner, asking a question that the young snake knew would come.

"I do. What did you want to know?" Yuta replies after only a moment after the question was issued.

The boy thinks for a moment, figuring out what he'd like to find out first. "What really happened to me? What's my 'true self'? Before you answer though, Yuta, if you can't tell me I'll just ask Sekien. I understand unlike my summon, you are bound by Rakuyama clan law."

If a snake could smile Yuta's face would have a sly one upon it. "I cannot say a word, but it seems you already know a way around it… I should really stop you, but I feel you should know. Though you'll find Sekien, even if not bound by our laws, still one to honour them if he can."

Kaii too makes a sly smile as he forms a set of hand seals, those used in the summoning jutsu. Despite his preparation, just as he is about to bite his thumb he and Yuta both disappear in a thick cloud of chakra smoke. A smoke so potent even after they find themselves somewhere else the smoke used to hide them shields their line of sight from anything more than a foot in front of them. Time passes and the smoke slowly dissipates to reveal an extremely dimly lit cave-like room. The size of said room, however, is unidentifiable with each direction falling to darkness before anything can be seen. All Kaii and Yuta can see well is each other.

For a few moments, they share the darkness, slowly looking around their immediate surroundings while trying to not stray too far into the void. Quite sounds resonate around the cave. Each one different to the other, but only slightly. They both try to process the sounds, what they could be or what purpose they fulfil, but neither can really place them. The sounds volume along with the structure of the cave distort whatever the sound is beyond recognition. After a while of finding nothing the two look to one another. Both agree without any words that the best option is too let the sounds be and go back to trying to summon Sekien. A summon like him should know where they are or at the very least how to leave.

He repeats the hand seals and performs them slightly faster than before. For each hand seal, the sounds begin to get closer and the less distorted. After the last seal and right as Kaii is about to bite his thumb a pair of eyes pierce the darkness. The eyes are angular in shape with deep golden irises and a slit pupil. Their gaze is fixed onto Kaii, watching as he slowly moves his thumb away from his mouth as he is fixed on the eyes. Seeing The eyes after shifting his position, Yuta inspects them for a second before speaking.

"Sekien-san." The words get Kaii's attention as he changes his gaze to his partner, slightly confused.

"That's Sekien?" Kaii questions Yuta while he slowly moves towards the pair of eyes. "Wait!" His mind clicks as he remembers stories told to him as he grew up, prompting him to stop in his tracks. "Is this Ryuchi Cave?"

The boy takes a second look around, again ignoring the eyes in favour of trying to make out anything else in the void. He quickly finds results as more eyes begin to break through the darkness. Small pairs to those larger then Sekien's, but above them all, at the pinnacle of Kaii's view is the largest pair. Those too are a deep gold but the pupil is so thin it's hard to make out at first glance. For only a moment Kaii looks deep into those eyes until his mind becomes clouded and his chakra begins to spike at an unprecedented level. His form quickly changes into that of his 'true self' and within a moment he sends a wave of chakra outwards before falling to his knees.

"Welcome home… my child." A voice booms around the cave, resonating inside of Kaii and Yuta both. "You remind me greatly of your mother, Kuroyuri, though your power is dwarfed by hers. In time you shall grow and surpass her."

Kaii's eyes ease open with them immediately returning to gaze at the large eyes above him. A few questions enter his mind, the first being 'what the hell is this?' and a second 'who the hell is that?'. Neither finds themselves to his lips, instead, the booming voice continues.

"No doubt you have questions, but first look upon us for the first time." As the last word becomes silent, the darkness fades, replaced by a dim light that reveals all of the figures. "This, my child, is as you guessed Ryuchi Cave. Home to the serpents and those bound to them such as you."

In front of the Rakuyama is a large chair-like structure adorned with bright colours and patterns. Atop it is the large figure, a huge white naga whose body is so large not even the chair it rests upon can't contain it. Stacks of coiled snake body lay behind the chair as a true show of its complete size. On the upper parts of its body and an equal distance apart are golden circular bands, each with a varying pattern. On the snake's head is a large grey turban which has an ornament at the front in the shape of a crescent. A red coloured orb sits upon the crescent while a green orb is attached, by what appears to be a thick rope, top the serpent's neck. The last notable feature to the dazed Kaii is the long cigarette holder in its mouth, lit and smoking.

As time passes and no single word has yet left Kaii's mouth, Yuta takes it on himself to coil around his partner. Releasing a wave of reassuring intent while simultaneously suppressing the power released by the seal. The effects are near instant as the boy begins to feel better, his mind able to process what has happened. He first takes a look at a small puddle a few meters to the side of him. The reflection revealing to him for the first time what his mother truly meant. What his 'true self' is.

"What the hell am I?" Kaii questions to no one and yet he is given an answer.

"That, Kaii-san, is what you really are. One of us, or at least the closet your kind will ever truly get to it." The smaller of the white snakes explains while slithering over to the boy.

Kaii looks as if he fails to understand what Sekien says. "One of you?"

"Yes, my child. For now, that will have to suffice, for more pressing matters require your attention. That of your open, or more aptly, exposed seal." The great white naga pushes onto the next topic, it's voice filled with cadence. "As you have just experienced, locking gazes with a snake causes your seal to open itself."

"I… I don't understand, but that voice… you are the one I heard before." Kaii looks up at the great naga, many times the size of a human and even a house. "You saved me?"

The naga's face contorts into a sly smile, it's long cigarette moving to the side of its maw. "I did, or at least my chakra did. When you were born, here in Ryuchi Cave, my chakra was implanted into the seal just as it was for all Rakuyama before you. Yours, however, is the only one that's ever had to use it to keep the user alive."

"T-thank you… I guess. So… I'm one of you and if I ever lock eyes with a snake ever again…I turn into this?" Kaii slowly collects his thoughts along with the newfound knowledge ahead of questioning the naga.

"That's correct. Yuta, as he is at the moment, will help suppress the power allowing you control over it if the situation arises." The White Naga's word carry over to the boy, who in turn looks to Yuta before returning his gaze to the great snake. "Now, I believe it's time you returned home. If you ever have further questions, summon Sekien and he shall answer them. I hope to see you again soon, my child, hopefully when you have full control over the seal. Oh, yes, one last thing my child, someone wishes to speak to you."

Out of the dimly lit void comes a small black snake. The size reminiscent of his tracker snakes with the exact colour reminiscent of Gaidoku. It slowly slithers up to the Rakuyama, his small eyes looking right at him. Kaii slowly notices the similarities and a small smile forms. One happy to see his old friend… or what he believes to be him.

"Gaidoku? Thank Kami, I… I thought you died." A tear runs down his cheek, glad to be released from at least one of the memories.

The snake doesn't reply until it's directly in front of its summoner. "Ssssumoner… I'm not Gaidoku." Kaii doesn't react outwardly, but inside his chakra begins to flare again and this time not even Yuta is able to restrain it. "Ssssumoner… we know it'sss, not your fault. You tried to ssssave him and for that we forgive you."

The chakra buildup doesn't stop. His skin darkens and markings slowly form around his eyes in a deep crimson. At first, it's simply around his eyes, spiking down next to his nose and off from the sides towards his ears. But after a few moments, it becomes a deeper shade of maroon and its spikes thicker. His sclera also darkens while his pupils thin and nearly close. His aura alone enough to choke anyone too close to him, a fact the poor serpent is finding out first hand. Sekien, seeing this unfold, looks to the Great White Naga and awaits something from the wise snake. A lone nod is all he gets, but it is all he needs to act, coiling around both Yuta and Kaii. Helping to suppress the out of control seal.

The aura recedes slowly with Kaii slowly returning to himself. Both Sekien and Yuta sigh as only a snake can, with the larger serpent uncoiled from his summoner as soon as he's fully suppressed. With another nod from the White Nage, before Kaii can ask another question, he and his partner are engulfed in a cloud of thick chakra smoke. Not waiting for the smoke to dissipate, the Rakuyama runs in a single direction. Out of the smoke, to find he's back in the clearing of the training field. He falls backwards onto the ground and crosses his legs. His chakra now back at normal levels, but why it is, he has no idea. He did nothing before the White Naga sent him home. Nothing as his entire appearance was different and his feelings sat on the edge of his mind. Ready to burst out at a single provocation. The thought of his altered appearance prompts him to check his head for the four horns he saw in the puddle in the cave. He runs a single hand through his hair, but to his surprise finds nothing.

"Yuta, does my seal really contain what I saw?" Kaii relaxes on the ground, resting his arms behind his head.

"It was, and it all is as the Great White S… Naga, said. You shall find out more when Kuroyuri-san deems you ready. I don't foresee it taking too long, so we should return home. Anko-san will no doubt expect us early for training." Yuta answers the question and fills in another small gap before prompting the boy to return home.

"You're right Yuta, let's go." Kaii leaps to his feet, with Yuta still wrapped around his body as he was ordered so back in the cave.

Without any hesitation, Kaii jumps to the nearest tree branch and makes his way towards his home.

* * *

Konoha Market District 14:27 | Tuesday 3nd April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

Kaii rests at the ramen stand down a shady back alley. The smell of the ramen enticing all who pass by. In front of him is a large empty bowl, with a small number of leftover ramen bits and a slither of the soup. Content with the meal, he pulls out his wallet from his pouch, counting the money to pay the elder man behind the counter, Teuchi. The elder man smiles at the boy when he notices he's ready to pay for his order, but after a second his face turns sour.

"Excuse me, erm, are you Rakuyama Kaii?" He asks though he treads carefully, not wanting to anger the shinobi if he calls him by someone else's name.

Kaii doesn't immediately react, trying to recall if he told the man his name just less then a month ago. "How do you know my name?" Under the table, he slides one of his two tantos out of its sheath.

Teuchi sighs and runs his hand over his face. "Listen, kid, you need to know this. I assume you know of the Hyuga right? Well, they've got it out for you, so... watch yourself. It'd be sad to see a kid like you tread on the wrong people's toes."

The blade re-enters it's sheath as quietly as it came out, not alerting the man to it at all. "I couldn't care less about them." Kaii returns, taking out his money, now that his other hand is free, and places the money on the counter. "I'll be seeing you." He waves back at the man as he leaves the small ramen stand.

The elder man sighs, he wants to help but even if he tried the boy doesn't seem like the type to allow for others to help him. He picks both the empty bowl and the money off of the counter, placing the bowl in the wash and the money into a small pot next to the register. A tiny label reads 'money left by customers' on it. The younger woman working the stand with him shoots him a look, but Teuchi ignores it and continues onto his work.

Further down the road, Kaii walks casually with his hands in his pockets. As he gets back to the main street, he notices quite a weird occurrence. Every person he passes avoids him more than usual. Not content to move out of his way, none now will even look the boy in the eye or in his general direction. Even if they were going that way, to begin with.

'Looks like it's not just the damned Hyuga that have a renewed problem with me. Or did they simply grow bolder?' Kaii musses to himself as he continues down the main street, soon coming up on the blacksmith's shop.

He moves the curtain out of the way with ease. The shop is exactly as it was before, with only a few new weapons in place of ones he must have sold. However, the proprietor does not seem happy to see the young Rakuyama. More then anything he looks conflicted, no doubt due to the Hyuga's condemning. Kaii takes a few steps in the store and notices a few others looking around for equipment, one browses a rack of kunai and shuriken on the left side of the door.

Before he can take another step the owner pipes up, enough to garner the attention of all in the shop. "Hey, you." He points directly at Kaii, who at this point has stopped in his tracks with a look of hidden anger on his face. "I don't serve outcasts here."

Kaii reads the man's features with a quick glance. It doesn't take much to realise why the owner, who was once so glad to have his patronage, is suddenly against him. At least on the outside. The noble clans have a lot of clout as Teuchi had told him only moments ago. He takes a few moments to look around him and gauge the opinions of the others. They all share his anger at him, 'an outcast in a shop they want to use. How dare he!' The thought sits at the surface of his mind, but they truly mean it, they hate that he is allowed to live a free life inside the walls. Facing no punishment for simply being like the Snake-sannin, a possible missing-nin in hiding.

"Don't make me tell you again boy! Leave my shop at once!" He shouts again, his voice cracking as each word leaves his maw.

Kaii fixes his glare on the man, his eyes shifting to those of his 'true self'. "I'll go, but you make yourself look the fool for bowing to those Hyuga scum." He turns on his heel and leaves with everyone in the shop shocked and their anger stoked further at his words.

'The Hyuga will burn, mark my words.' Kaii notes to himself as he leaps to the nearest rooftop to go to his training field. His eyes filled with a freshly stoked hatred for those of the Hyuga and those who'd follow their lead. The little black snake on his shoulders smiles for a second, happy at his partners choice...

* * *

Undisclosed Location 16:02 | Friday 6th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

Light finds itself alone in this small room. Unable to break the shadows control over anything but the single wooden desk atop spiral floor tiles. Two figures reside in the shadows, one sat at the desk, their hands arched and leant on said desk with the other crouched just out of the lights reach. For a few moments, they sit in silence. After another few moments, the one at the desk voices something.

"Report, Yamazaki Takumi. I want to know everything about this operation of yours, and don't leave anything out now." The man's voice is beyond cold, calculating and a small hint of a threat. One his apparent subordinate takes to heart.

"The operation is going splendidly, as my written report indicates. All the _products_ are selling as fast as I had estimated when I brought you the proposal, but I do have a minor issue. The two leading the day to day are… how shall I put it, not the quietest shinobi." He stops, thinking of how to elaborate. "As such, they have attracted attention from the locals who have done what they can to stop our illicit goods from selling. Leaving only the hard to get _products_ to bring in any income. If I may, I'd request permission to journey to Konohagakure for a special substance that should fill in the gap until I am able to reign the two in."

In the matter of a second, the room falls to cold. "You said the operation is going _splendidly_ … then tell me, _Yamazaki_ , how could it be going so well if such a problem exists. One that causes the only goods worth anything to be removed from your hands?"

"My apologies, this problem has only just arisen in the last fortnight. I believed it best to find a solution and ask for permission, as opposed to bringing an issue to you which falls far below your purview." The room cools slightly, but a slight tinge of cold remains, lingering around the man.

The man at the desk sits forward slightly, his mouth now lit by the light as it rests in a slight grin. "I'm glad you understand your position… now leave me and get this issue of yours resolved. I will have need of you soon… for a special mission, but we can discuss that when the time is ready."

"I understand, I will leave for Konohagakure and find the supplier of the _product._ " The kneeling man stands and within the next moment vanishes with nothing remaining where he stood.

The last remaining man smiles at his words, leaning back in his chair to return to the work situated on his desk.

* * *

Training Field 18 06:45 | Tuesday 10th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

Kaii rests on the ground of the small clearing in his usual training field. His snake partner coiled around his crossed legs with his head on Kaii's lap, looking out into the forest as Kaii funnels his chakra into his seals. It doesn't take long for the chakra emitted to subside and for Anko to drop from a nearby tree, a rather large scroll in hand. The boy doesn't move from his position, his eyes still closed as the kunoichi strides over to his front and copies his stance, sitting on the floor. She then moves the scroll to her front and unrolls it, showing the contents to both her student and his snake.

"Oi, Kaii, open your eyes. You can't read with them shut and you've got a lot of reading to do if you are to be ready for the Chunin Exams… oh yeah, you're entering the exam. Should have probably led with that, ah well, I've been busy trying to find this." The woman ignores the newly shocked face ahead of her as she gestures to the scroll.

Kaii tries to voice some words, hoping to string together a sentence but fails and Yuta responds for him. "Why the sudden decision Anko-san? I would have thought from the last mission, you'd have recommended he skip it and continue to train."

The woman sighs, looking up from the scroll to make eye contact with the snake as Kaii continues to fail at finding even a single word. "It wasn't my choice, nor would it have been. Team 14 is technically still a recognised team with Team Iku and Team Anko simply being sub-teams of it. Iku, as the leader of Team 14, chose to put them forward early to give us some notice. So my hands are tied, hence the vast increase in training and this." She again gestures to the scroll hoping they finally look at it.

They both do with Kaii now done fumbling over his words. The scroll from a quick glance seems like a simple set of instructions on how to perform a jutsu. Looking further, Kaii is able to read the name of the jutsu right at the top 'Fire Release: Crimson Earth Spider'. He then moves to the small summary underneath it, which describes the jutsu as 'The user spews out fire that both surrounds the enemy and then transforms into a spider that attacks the enemy. This technique effectively traps and attacks an opponent at the same time.'

"A fire jutsu? This sounds complicated just from the very descriptive summary… wait a second, no other jutsu scrolls look like this, why is that Anko-sensei?" Kaii looks happy at the idea of learning a new jutsu, though still finds a question at the front of his mind.

Anko looks away innocently. "No clue, now how about w-"

"You wrote it didn't you… I never knew you could be so serious or well descriptive." Kaii cuts his Sensei off while watching her visibly cringe as he catches on. "Actually, could the jutsu form be changed from a spider to, well a snake?"

A glimpse in Anko's eye shines in the small light let through the tree line. "What a good question. Yes, that was exactly what I was going to explain, that form of the fire can take any shape the user decides on. Now, I'm going to jump over there and wait for you to read the scroll and well… attack me with it."

Anko leaps from her sitting position, going a simple flip over her student as she does so. Landing exactly where she said she would. The boy and his serpent ignore the obvious display of skill from the kunoichi and begin the process of learning the hand seals. First, following the instructions, he performs the Tiger seal. Next, the Horse seal, followed by the Rat then Dog and finally a second Tiger seal. He fills his lungs with air as he lets a small portion of chakra out of his tenketsu, after a few moments he releases his breath spewing fire right out of his mouth into the space ahead of him. The fire reacts as if commanded by the heavens, and surrounds both him and Anko. A few moments pass and the fire right behind Anko forms into a mix of a snake and spider, a crude first attempt at the jutsu.

The snake/spider hybrid changes at Anko, who as she did before, simply jumps over it to dodge it. The hybrid then falls in on itself in a somewhat small explosion-like event that chars the ground and everything a good five feet around its centre. Within a few more seconds the fire ring that encompasses the two fades and leaves only the charred ground behind. The sound of clapping fills the emptiness. Kaii hops to his feet and turns around to find it's Anko whose clapping.

"Well done, Kaii. That's an extremely good first attempt, though the blast radius and intensity of the flames need to be adjusted. Still, I can't take away from the attempt, but it's not enough for the exams and you can be sure both your teammates have equal jutsu mastered already." Kaii for a second felt proud of his skill until Anko mentions his teammates.

His anger stokes slightly and his eyes change to their 'true form'. "Then I'll train non-stop, I'll push myself beyond my limits. I'll not fall behind those scum again!"

Anko body flickers with ease to her student's side and places a hand on his shoulder. "Having goals is good, but don't take it too far. They are still your teammates and you have to learn to trust them despite what they do, or else you or even Iku could die because you refused to see past a petty difference. Before you even bother using the excuse 'The Hyuga don't deserve my trust'. You'd be right, they have wronged you but I'd say your life is more important right? So leave it at home and control yourself, okay?"

The boy tries to calm his inner fire but fails too with his seal flaring up as his anger plateaus. "I can't even buy equipment in my own village, and you want me to ignore it?"

"I do." Anko answers with ease, her stare fixed on her student as her eyes harden. "Now, do the jutsu again and again until you can fill the entire ring you create with the explosion of the creature."

Kaii nods, but his mind fixates on the former topic. The fixation, however, helps his focus. His mind doesn't wonder and with each attempt, he is able to further the jutsu by larger bounds then even Anko expects from him. Within a few hours, he is able to fill the ring with the attack and create a perfect replication of a serpent. The only thing that has fallen short is the intensity of the flames. Though they have improved they pale in comparison to Anko's simple fireballs she flings at him as he tries to pin her with the jutsu. A fact she neglected to tell him ahead of attacking him on his third attempt at the jutsu.

The training continues until late into the day. Only stopping every few hours to stop any out of control flames. Both student and Sensei rest on the floor, both with sweat dripping down their foreheads as Kaii alone breaths laboured breaths. His black snake slithers down his shoulder and reverts to his usual size ahead of coiling around his partner's form.

"Well done, Kaii. Kuroyuri-san will be pleased with your growth, though I'm sure she wouldn't be happy with your reliance on your emotions and seal." The black serpent comments making himself comfortable.

"I improved, that's reason enough to use them." Kaii's reply is cold and to the point. "Anko-sensei, is there time for a D-rank?"

She looks carefully at her student, assessing his mindset ahead of responding. "Why not, can't just practise non-stop as much as you'd like to. Come on then, let's get to the mission desk before all the good ones are taken by other genin teams. Can't be doing the really boring ones this late in the day can we?"

The two take off into the tree line in the direction of the academy. Keeping the usual running order, which has become more and more streamlined and well executed. It doesn't the two long to reach the small training area at the back of the academy's main building. The area is filled with a few souls, all without headbands. Kaii watches as they poorly perform hand seals and practise shurikenjutsu, the scenes provoking thoughts of his own time at the academy. From practising alone in the small amount of spare time he had and all the time he spent focusing his chakra into his seals.

The thoughts are forced from his mind as he and Anko land on the balcony attached to the mission office. The doors are both open and a small amount of chatter can be heard coming from the dimly lit room. The elder of the two strides into the room first, leaving the young Rakuyama on the balcony for a few moments before he too enters the room. All eyes turn to the two. They linger there for a second before returning to looking at their scrolls or back to their conversations. However, a single pair of eyes stay on Kaii. He locks with the glare and returns one of his own. The man clicks his tongue and picks up a scroll with a large 'D' imprinted over its back.

With the room back to normalcy, Kaii and Anko move over to the mission desk, stopping in front of the man who appears to hold some disdain for the Rakuyama. He places the scroll back down and waits for Anko or Kaii to start the conversation.

"So Kaii, what mission do you want?" Anko asks with a hint of sarcasm, after the few months she's been training him she knows exactly what missions he prefers.

Kaii keeps his gaze on the man, dissecting his features as a feeling scratches at the back of his head. "Deliveries will do for today, I'm not in the mood for the usual."

"Alrighty then. You got any delivery missions… er… Hyuga-san?" Anko asks hesitantly as she catches a glimpse at the shinobi's eyes.

"No we don't, only trash collection are free… a suitable mission for an outcast don't you think?" The shinobi sounds proud of his comments as he finds a scroll and throws it carelessly at Kaii.

Kaii nearly lashes out at the shinobi, but a wave of reassuring intent from Yuta and Anko both, calm his nerves as he catches the scroll. Without as much as a single word the Rakuyama turns and leaves out of the same door he entered through. His mind focused on the same thoughts as he thought on a few days previous.

'All Hyuga will be crushed under my heel. I'll spare none of that trash if I can help it.' Kaii seethes out as a rather vocal Anko can be heard muttering curses as she too leaps from the academy.

He continues at a rather fast pace until a good distance away from the academy. Once stopped he unfurls the scroll and reads the mission description. As the Hyuga had stated, it was a trash pickup mission, but not only that. No, that wouldn't satisfy those with a grudge against him. The mission orders the holder to clear an entire district and to have the Jonin-sensei inspect it to ensure it's done. Kaii grits his teeth and nearly crushes the scroll in his hand as they form into fists. Luckily Anko lands next to him and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Let it go, Kaii, they want you to lash out at them. That's the only way they can get rid of you. Prove them wrong, work on doing everything you can to show you are more than worthy of the title you hold as a shinobi of Konohagakure." Her words find a place in Kaii's heart, but they are surrounded by doubts and a deep-seated anger.

"I'll try Anko-sensei." Kaii returns, re-rolling the scroll and placing it into his pouch. "We need to clear the second district by morning."

No more words need to be said as they both head in the direction of the second district.

* * *

Hyuga Branch Residence 21:12 | Thursday 12th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

Kaneto and Taisuke rest in the former's room as the sun slowly retreats from the sky. The two genin conversing lightly with the smell of freshly cooked ramen and some expensive foods still lingering but slowly fading. A knock comes at the door which quiets the two boys as they turn the heads to the door. An ageing woman pokes her head past the door after opening it slightly, her features largely reminiscent of Kaneto's.

"Iku-san has asked me to remind you that you two will be preparing for your first C-rank starting tomorrow. So get some rest and make sure you have all of your things." As soon as she finishes she closes the door and leaves.

Kaneto sighs at his mother's peculiar actions and turns to his friend. "Well, Taisuke, looks like we are finally getting a _real_ shinobi mission."

"It does… I'm kinda scared though. I mean Ka- the outcast went on one a month ago and look how it turned out. He was barely alive when he got home, and on top of that, he spent nearly a fortnight in the trauma wing of the hospital. That could be u-" Before Taisuke can finish his friend cuts him off.

"We're stronger than that outcast. We've both trained non-stop for this and on top of that, we are both far superior shinobi when compared to him. He may have grown when we trained together, but without Iku-sensei he'll have fallen behind again." Kaneto's words are bolstered by his confidence and it doesn't take much for Taisuke to change his demeanour.

"You're right, Kaneto. Well, we best get to bed so we can get up in time to eat before training with Iku-sensei." Taisuke comments, moving off of the bed and onto a small futon.

Kaneto sighs for the second time before he lies himself down in his bed. "Her mood is something I can do without so let's."

The night envelops the sky as the two shinobi drift off to sleep ahead of their week of preparation.

 


	12. Chapter XII

Outskirts of Konoha 23:02 | Thursday 12th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

A lone figure hides in the high trees a short leap from the walls of Konoha. He looks in at the village, watching as shinobi patrol quietly along the walls. There he waits for a few hours, processing each and every patrol routes and the time taken to pass him, the time the wall remains empty and unwatched and lastly when the opportune time to pass over the wall. A few opportunities have presented themselves to him, but he chooses to wait longer and gain more intelligence.

"It seems I underestimated Konohagakure's defences, not something I intend to do a second time. First I should find somewhere to stay, I can't proceed to the transaction without it. After that, I'll decide on how to transport the load to those two louts I call subordinates." The man nearly non-existent comments to himself accompanied by a sigh before he sees the next opportunity to move.

He sails through the gap with ease and no alarms are raised in the immediate time that passes by. He lands softly on a tree next to a row of houses, the tree's leaves concealing him from all but sensors. Like before he waits and calculates his next moves, time on his side as he does so as the nights hold over the sky is absolute. After a few more minutes he exits the tree as fast as he entered it, leaping silently across the rooftops to the centre of the village. The market district more than likely his target. As it should host both an inn and the vendor of the goods he's come to procure.

It doesn't take the man long until he arrives at the edge of the decently lit district. His mind still running faster than most as he surveys the buildings around him, noting each and everyone's place. However, his concentration breaks as the sound of a low thump can be heard behind him. He slowly looks over his shoulder to find a Konoha shinobi with a kunai drawn.

"Hold there, shinobi-san." The Konoha-nin orders confidently, his stance indicating his ability to strike without pause. "Why are you skulking around the village so late and where is your hitai-ate?"

The first man clicks his tongue before a small grin falls onto his lips. "I guess you caught me, Konoha-san." He stands, turning to face the Konoha shinobi, his hitai-ate around his neck brazenly showing his allegiance. "Now, shall we discuss our predicament?" To the naked eye, he doesn't move as he sports a maniacal smile on his lips, but he had quickly drawn three kunai.

"You O-" Before he can finish he finds three kunai embedded in his neck, cutting deep and stopping all speech but an obligatory gargle of blood.

"Not the talking sort I see, well, I'm glad we could reach an accord in spite of it." He mocks, disappearing into thin air.

* * *

Training Field 18 06:59 | Friday 13th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

The training field is quiet, its usual ruckus nowhere to be found. The Rakuyama and his partner sit on the ground, the former's chakra fading into his seals as it always does during the pre-training training. One figure, however, is not present there, in fact, the two seem to be pondering on the whereabouts of said figure. A few minutes pass in silence as Kaii finishes up his chakra sealing. Once done he looks to the content Yuta whose resting on his lap.

"I wonder where Anko-sensei is this morning? I know she said yesterday that she wouldn't be here, but she didn't exactly tell us where she was going, but it must be more important than training." Kaii reasons, crossing his arms as he releases his hand seal.

Yuta hisses in agreeance. "That she didn't. I suspect it involves you in some manner or I'm sure she'd not have told you about it the way she did. That or she'd have the meeting after training or before."

Kaii nods as he rummages a hand through his pouch. "You're right. We may as well do some solo training until she turns up… if she turns up today." A scroll comes from the pouch, the one that contains the jutsu Anko taught him a few days ago. "I think some more practice with this jutsu would do me some good, mostly ways to adapt the fire's intensity and range."

A sly smile forms on the young snake's lips, looking his partner in the eyes. "You could, but I have another idea… if you are interested."

For a moment Kaii thinks on it, wondering what it could be before he asks. "Like what, Yuta?"

"Sekein." Yuta hisses leaving a brief passes in time for the clogs in Kaii's mind to process and catch on, which the young boy does. "Your summons have a vast array of knowledge to share with their summoners… one being you. From venoms produced by their own fangs to jutsu created specially for their summoners." Under his breath, at the very end, he adds attempts to add the last idea until he stops himself. " _Or you could… no, I can't. Kuroyuri-san would exile me herself._ "

Kaii notices his sudden muffled speech. "Yuta, Okaa-san doesn't have to know and you know not to keep things from me that are not clan ordained secrets." His eyes change form as his eyes lock with Yuta's. "Now, tell me."

A little taken back by his master's drastic change to a much harsher tone he does as he's asked. "Yes, Kaii. Sekein could also teach you the _abilities_ of your 'true form', and also how to fur… I cannot say any more."

The two remain silent for a short while. Kaii thinks deeply about the ideas presented to him, each having their own merits. The primary merit being a perfect fit for the upcoming Chunin Exam he has found himself partaking in. The only problem he has is which one would benefit him sooner?

Another minute passes and Kaii places the scroll he holds in his hand back into his pouch, after first rolling it neatly. In the next moment, he performs a short sequence of hand seals, each done with a great deal of elegance before finally stopping and biting his thumb. Blood trickles down his hand as he slams it into the ground as chakra is released from his tenketsu. Immediately a puff of smoke occurs a few feet in front of him, which Sekein slowly slithers out from, his white scales shining in the small portions of light that found its way through the leaves.

"How may I assist you Kaii-san?" Sekien bows his head to Kaii as he greets his summoner.

Kaii nods his head back to the snake before starting. "I would like to know more about what types of snakes serve Ryuchi Cave and their summoners. More so the venoms for a start... if you have any, that is."

"The venoms you say? I see you've thought on this before bringing it to me. As you say we can discuss the rest later, but as for venoms, Ryuchi Cave has a few breeds who have extremely potent venom. Of course, each has very different outcomes. The breed Koshiro-sama uses can cause complete paralysis of every organ and result in organ failure. A rather potent breed I would say, there's also the breed your mother favours. Their venom results in the chakra network being destroyed slowly, as the venom attacks chakra, not blood."

"Interesting." Kaii strikes up a thinking pose. "Are there any others?"

"That there are Kaii-san. Ryuchi Cave has a breed whose venom attacks the nervous system and whatever is exposed to the venom, causing a variety of effects. All, however, will result in death as the venom will quickly overtake any attempt to stop it. Another causes muscles to disintegrate, and eventually become useless, though the venom is not toxic and would require a finishing blow to be performed." Sekein stops for only a moment to take a breath. "The last venom of the major breeds attacks the blood of the victim, causing blotting and eventually stopping all blood from moving around the body. Probably the worst way to go in my opinion. Does any pique your interest Kaii-san?"

The Rakuyama doesn't answer right away, taking his time to internally judge each venom in his head. All present a new way to defeat an enemy, or simply aid in finishing them off. His mind starts to wander towards combining the venom to create a more potent dual acting venom that attacks more than one internal system. Not that he'd know if it is possible without asking his personal summon first. Before he can, however, Sekein gains his attention.

"Ahead of answering, I must tell you that it's not a choice to make lightly. What venom you chose will be _joined_ to you from here on, though you can still use the other venoms by coating your blades and so on." Sekein's words reach Kaii, but only a handful are really understood.

" _Joined_? What do you mean Sekein?" Kaii questions his summon with Yuta quietly listening in.

Sekein shares a glance with the young black snake resting on Kaii's lap, the two having an unsaid conversation. "It refers to a Rakuyama deciding what branch of venom they incorporate into their 'true self'. Though the act is not so simple and could very well result in your death."

After a few minutes of final contemplation, Kaii holds his hand out to his front. "Then I choose the same venom as Okaa-san." A small snake slithers out of his forearm seals and looks him directly in the eyes, his form changing instantly with his aura filling the small clearing. "I'm ready Sekein."

The White Snake takes a few moments to asses the boy and his mental state before waving his tail over a small area in front of him. A mandatory puff of chakra occurs and fades quickly revealing five separate vials, each containing a different coloured liquid. The young Rakuyama looks at each one before looking to his summon, whose tail hovers over the vial which contains a blue liquid. He reaches out to grab the vial but hesitates for a single moment, something both Yuta and Sekein notice immediately. The hesitation only lasts a moment before the boy picks up the vial, popping the cork out of it and taking it to his lips.

The liquid slowly empties and once fully ingested Kaii drops the vial as he stumbles to his feet. A roar of pain exits his maw as he holds his hands over his head, stumbling around as both Yuta and Sekein watch. His roars eventually turn into whimpers, his staggering halted as he falls to his knees. A few minutes of whimpers fill the area before Kaii looks to the sky and again roars in pain as the same blue liquid that was in the vial rolls down his chin from his mouth. Accompanied by a small amount of blood from his mouth and nose. His snake-like eyes are highly dilated and a great deal of sweat runs down his temples.

"It is done." The large White Snake voices to the other snake watching as Kaii winches in pain and blood flow continually from his mouth and eyes. "The pain should cease in the next few moments."

The other snake doesn't reply, intent to watch his partner until he knows for sure he's fine. Nothing short of that would do. If his partner dies, then it would be on his head and Kuroyuri's anger would not end at him alone. The few minutes pass as Sekein said they would. Kaii's pain and occasional whimpers die down. The blood too comes to a halt leaving the boy looking directly into the sky while on his knees. His fangs are also on show, slowly secreting a far lighter blue liquid from the tips. The small light piercing the leaves and branches hit the liquid.

"Ah, the joining was far better then I expected. He's only secreting a small amount of the venom, rare feet immediately after the process." Sekein looks happy as he announces it. The first summoner he's had is among the few to merge so well with their chosen venom, as well as being one of the youngest. _Perhaps the younger the Rakuyama, the better they fair in the joining?_ He muses to himself as Kaii slowly tilts his head forward to look at the white snake.

The boy doesn't talk, yet he body does the talking for him. For every beat of his heart, his eyes change their target. Looking from the trees to Yuta and eventually landing on Sekein. He uses the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the remaining venom and blood on his chin before finally speaking up. "The pain was, unbearable, but Sekein… did it work?"

Sekein grins in a way only snakes can. "It did, Kaii-san. The pain is over I assume?" He asks for clarification, knowing it was unbearable, but is it still?

"It lingers still, but it's barely worth mentioning." The young Rakuyama answers, cleaning the rest of his face and pushing his hair backwards. Afterwards, he pushes himself from the ground, his legs only just holding his weight after the ordeal.

"Good." Sekein seems relieved that his summoner isn't experiencing much pain. "Yuta-san, if you could please catch a rabbit or other small animal." The black snake slithers from its coil and does as he is asked. "While your partner is fetching what I've asked for, you will need to focus your chakra and search inwards. There you will find something, when you find it, remember where it is."

"I understand." As he finishes he relieves the weight from his legs, sitting on the floor with his legs underneath him. Time passes smoothly while he's in his thoughts, trying to find the 'something' his summon has told him about.

The young genin focuses harder and harder with every minute that passes. After the first ten minutes, a spark of chakra fills the field with his muted grey chakra. Not long afterwards, a subtle black layer of chakra forms around Kaii's skin. Before long it encompasses all of his body, and as if on cue, Kaii opens his eyes right as the black chakra forms two snake's from either shoulder. Still attached but freely moving. The aura felt weird to the boy, a sensation that fills him with great power, but yet it is also filled with malice. Feeding off of his negative emotions and fueling them further.

"Sekein, what is this?" Kaii looks to either shoulder, noting the two snakes who look back at him. "Why do I remember this power and whatever these are?" Whenever Kaii changes the direction he gazes in, so does the snakes. Both hiss at whatever is before them, other than the other two snakes.

"Ah, so you found it. Now you are ready to train. However, to answer your question, this is another part of your 'true self'. Well, an ability it holds but I believe a more comprehensive explanation will be had with Kuroyuri-san at the Chunin exams." The answers are not ones Kaii wanted, but at the very least it did answer the very basic question. "How you remember the power, it was when you blacked out on your mission with Anko-san. When you unlocked your 'true self', you entered it without most restriction and as such was able to use anything that came, and was not still locked."

"So, The White Naga, when using my body used it?" Kaii immediately asks another question, his anger still bubbling underneath his conscious feelings.

"He did, but that is enough questions. We must finally test how far you can go before you submit to the seal and become enraged. At that time we will subdue you." Seeing Yuta return, Sekein smiles. "Ah, first Kaii, please bite this rabbit."

Yuta slithers over to the young Rakuyama, dropping the rabbit into his hand. With hesitation he does as he was asked and bites down hard, the creature dying instantly as a weird sensation fills his teeth. More accurately his canines or fangs. Releasing his bite, the areas around the upper two most prominent incisions blacken instantly. The same blue liquid slowly spilling out of the wound as the one he drank.

"Venom? So this is how it works?" Kaii looks over the wound in great detail. Taking in everything, and also planning how to use it in the future. Maybe to assassinate or if he's able, secrete the venom and use it to coat his blades. If he can even secrete the venom without first biting his prey. _Only one way to find out_. He muses to himself. "Sekein, before we progress further, is there any way I can use this venom without biting my target? My own that is."

"You could, but you need only think of the venom you need and a snake with that venom will be summoned to you. Via the seals on your arms if necessary." Sekein advises while answering the question. "Now, let's progress to training."

The field soon turns to one filled with chakra being used without limit. The tree's burning as Kaii is taught a few extra fire jutsu from Sekein and Yuta, only small ones though to supplement his skills. As the day comes to a close Kaii is happy with his growth, not once giving in to his inner feelings, even though they sit right under the surface. Sekein and Yuta both convene before the former returns to Ryuchi Cave.

"Yuta-san, today he was kept from blacking out purely from the lack of time he had to think on those feelings he harbours. Next time it may not be so easy, especially if Konoha keeps pushing him away. You must needs inform Kuroyuri-san of his fragile state, for if he breaks he may do something that will truly make him an outcast." Before the black snake can reply Sekein disappears.

_Kaii's anger will not be quelled, I shall see to it. Konoha will pay for their transgression, it may not be soon, but it will happen._ Yuta seethes to himself, his eyes narrowing as he looks to the village itself.

* * *

Undisclosed Location 01:14 | Friday 13th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

A mysterious figure rests atop one of the largest buildings in Konoha. The shroud of darkness keeping him hidden from any patrol that passes him by. One nearly noticed the man, though after looking at him for a mere moment he relented and left. A small object slowly flies into the air every few moments, landing square into the man's palm before he again tosses it into the air. He does this for a few more minutes before pushing himself off of the roof. He rockets to the ground, yet he lands softly on the floor and leaves no single sign that he was ever not there.

He stands himself straight, a single half tiger hand seal formed by his free hand. A puff of chakra covers the man before he walks out of the smoke. Or at least he should of yet he didn't, an old man came out instead. As the smoke leaves completely, no trace of the first fellow is there, nor is there any to be found nearby. The old man, however, continues his amble, heading for the hotel district of the village.

* * *

Hokage's Office 11:36 | Sunday 15th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

Three shinobi stand in front of the Hokage's desk. The tallest in the centre with the remaining two at either side. For a few moments, they all remain silent, awaiting any instruction from their Kage. He doesn't relent, eyeing each of the smaller figures with great curiosity. A curiosity in their growth and also in them as people, outside of their shinobi duties. After another minute he arches his fingers and leans on his desk, looking even more ominous than simply leaning back in his chair.

Hiruzen, his curiosity now sated, looks to the kunoichi in the centre. "Iku-san, your genin have grown a lot haven't they." The woman nods, not wanting to interrupt her Kage if he has not yet finished. "Exactly what I expected from such a reliable Jonin-sensei." Her expression softens at the praise, and one of the genin smiles with pride. The last one stays completely still, a stiff expression on his features. "Now, you three are here for Team 14's first C-rank… but before I assign it to you, I believe you are missing your last genin."

The faces of all three change, and all in different ways. The one who was completely stoic seems to be filled with an anger that came from nowhere. Iku is confused, scratching her head as she tries to figure out who her Kage is talking about. It doesn't take her long to click and smile warmly. The last of the three is simply gobsmacked, thinking his team would simply be the three of them as it has been since the _incident_.

Iku is about to talk as a knock comes from the door. It resonates around the room before Hiruzen calls out to enter. The knocker does just that and enters through the door, closing it behind him after a second figure has entered.

"Anko-san, Kaii-san, I'm glad you could join us. I didn't interrupt your training did I?" Hiruzen queries with a sly smile. He knows he didn't, he had spoken with Anko only a day or so ago to inform her of this.

"Of course not Hokage-sama." The response comes from Anko as she and Kaii both bow before him, righting themselves after a second or two. "Can I ask why you summoned us?"

"I was just explaining that very thing with Iku-san here." The Jonin doesn't react or speak. "Team 14 is being reunited for its first C-rank. I'm sure the time apart has done the three good and after this, there shall be no more incidents." Hiruzen's words don't come off as a statement but a threat to the three genin. One which causes all but Kaii to tense at, something about his training has hardened his unconscious mind.

"Then Team Anko is no more. Is there anything else you need of me Hokage-sama?" Anko question, taking the news rather well. Kaii looks at her, it doesn't take him long to realise she is acting a part, and even less to put the last piece together. She was absent because she was setting this up with Hiruzen.

"There is, but I will finish this meeting first, please wait outside until Team 14 leave." As he finishes, Anko does as asked and leaves through the door. Once it fully closes, Hiruzen turns his attention to Kaii. "Kaii-san, you will be joining your old team on an Escort mission." As he finishes he turns to look at Iku. "This mission will take about a week, maybe two, as the man you are to escort is a civilian and a rather old one at that. He does not have any cart or transport so the journey will be made on foot." He leaves a brief pause before calling for the escortee. "Genryu- san, please join us in here and introduce yourself to the team that will be guarding you."

As if it were a revolving door, a new figure enters through the door. This time, it takes much longer for the full figure to enter, the door closing just as slowly as he looks over the shinobi. It is an elderly man, at least in his sixties. A snow white yukata hangs over his shoulders and is tightly bound at the front. A cane helps to support him as he ambles close to the desk in his civilian sandals. On his face is a pair of glasses, more than likely to help the man see clearly. His graceful moustache hangs over his top lip and down either side of it while his head is completely bald. Once at the desk, he uses his spare arm to lean on the desk, adding some extra support to his ageing legs.

"Genryu-san, please introduce yourself to the team that will be guiding you to Honkanai village." Hiruzen leans back as he gives the floor to Genryu. Though he never once lets his mind wander from those in his office.

Slowly taking his arm off of the desk, Genryu waves to the shinobi, but quickly puts the arm back down for fear of falling over. "I'd bow to you shinobi-san, but I fear my legs would fail me." He chuckles but finds no one else shares his humour, so he coughs to clear his throat. His voice is raspy and deep as if he'd smoked a pipe every day for his entire life. "I'm Genryu, an elder in Honkani village. I journeyed to Konoha to mourn a friend of mine who has recently passed."

Iku bows slightly, and greets the man. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Genryu-san, I'm Nakano Iku. If only such events had not brought you to Konoha in the first place." Her usual hard-ass attitude was nowhere to be found, a fact Kaii picks up on instantly. Though he speculates it's only for the greeting and will revert when on the road. "Would I be right in saying you fear for your life against bandits as you return home… or is there anything else that would want to see you killed?"

Genryu chuckles, the quick turn of the kunoichi amusing to the civilian. "Nakano-san, most don't even know I'm an elder of the village and less I'd assume care about me. Only the bandits worry me."

The man's words don't sit well with Kaii or Kaneto, the way he said them and the fact any village Elder would be a target to the right shinobi. So why does he not worry about them? Could he be right in saying most don't know he's an elder? Or could it be he's downplaying the threat? Neither can decide and chose to put it to the back of their mind, wanting to focus on the C-rank mission ahead of them… and fighting the urge to kill one another.

"I understand, then we shall leave right away. I see no reason to delay it." Iku turns to look at her two own genin while Kaii remains next to the door. "Right, it's your first C-rank, you _will_ do your best and bring honour to Konoha."

Both stand straight, pride radiating off of them as Iku turns and gestures for Genryu to exit the office. He does, taking an age to do so and is closely followed by Kaneto and Taisuke. Iku lingers for a moment, her gaze staying on Kaii for a few moments. A small smile creeps its way onto her lips before she pushes on and leaves the office. Kaii lingers for a few moments also, looking over his Kage. Hiruzen nods once, turning his chair to the large windows behind him. The young genin takes that as his cue to catch up with his old Sensei.

For a while, the office remains empty of life, other than Hiruzen and the Anbu shinobi hidden in the shadows. After a while, the silence is ushered away by Anko as she reenters the room as she was instructed to do. She does as all Jonin do and stands in front of the desk and waits to be spoken to. It doesn't take long and when the Hokage's chair spins back around, he looks far more serious then he was before.

"Hokage-sama, what has you so… well, serious?" Anko looks like she was blindsided by his sudden transition, something she should be used to.

"Anko-san, I will skip the pleasantries. You have a mission, follow Team 14, and ensure there is no one following them. Something about this Genryu fellow has me on edge, he does not feel like a civilian should." Hiruzen's tone is cold, and every word is said with the utmost of seriousness as Anko processes the information. "Keep your distance and only intervene when it is required. If you are forced to act, simply say I was worried about Kaneto and Kaii being together and wanted an extra pair of eyes on them."

Anko nods, though she finds herself filled with questions, none that she was going to trouble the Hokage with though. "I will do as you instructed Hokage-sama." As soon as she confirms her mission she exits the room in a body flicker, leaving no visible trace behind her.

* * *

Outskirts of Konoha 12:57 | Sunday 15th April 13 aNb | Konohagakure

At the grand entrance of Konoha, Team 14 and their C-rank escortee, Genryu begins their journey to Honkanai village. A simple formation is being employed to protect the civilian. Kaneto stands vigilant at the front, his Hyuga Kekkei Genkai and unique taijutsu style make him the perfect frontman and vanguard for the team. Genryu is about five feet behind him with Kaii at his right and Iku at his left. Both shinobi specialise in dealing speed and as such are best suited to act from the flanks. Right at the rear is Taisuke, a recently taught medic-nin and support-nin. Though that is not all he excels at, he's also a fierce combatant that can spar with Kaneto at one hundred per cent.

The first few hours pass without any issue, Kaii keeps to himself as the rest converse. The old man is the most talkative of the bunch, asking all the shinobi about themselves and their skills. He attempts to aim some of the questions at the Rakuyama but he ignores him, keeping his attention on the mission instead of the pointless queries. This keeps up until nightfall and only stops as Iku begins to actively look for the nearest Inn to rest at. They come to a stop at the edge of the village, and Iku begins to decide on a plan.

"Okay, Kaneto, Taisuke and I, will be guarding Genryu while Kaii tries to find an Inn." Only the Hyuga tries to argue but he finds himself quelled by Iku's gaze. "Kaii, you will take the northern half first, and then take the southern if there is not one in the north. Any inn will do as I will cover the expenses."

The young Rakuyama nods and launches himself onto the nearest rooftop. The village only has twenty or so buildings, most houses for the locals, but he soon finds an inn. It's the only building with more than three stories and is the size of at least three houses put together. Feeling confident, he body flickers back to the group, his practice being well adapted as he appears directly next to Iku.

"Iku-sensei, the inn is three streets over. It is the only one I could find, but I believe it will be the only one given the village size." Kaii explains though Kaneto's gaze burrows into Kaii as he feels it should have been him finding the inn. A more active job then simply guarding an old man.

"Good, then we will rest there for tonight. I will take the first guard shift, then Kaneto will the second. If necessary Kaii will take a third guard shift as this will leave Taisuke ready to heal any wounds in the coming day. Not that I'll let that happen." Iku laughs slightly, gesturing for Kaneto to lead the way to the Inn Kaii found. The genin does so dutifully and before long all five of them are in the Inn and have settled into their room.

The night passes slowly, with each of their shifts on guard duty being painfully dull. Not so much as a whimper or anything comes to their notice. Nothing and all it does is raise the tension between the Rakuyama and the Hyuga. Their sensei tried to keep them apart, even staying up for both guard shifts just so she could keep an eye on them. The coming days would be hard, but Iku believed they could put it behind them when necessary.

Upon morning they all ready their supplies, leaving the room completely sparse and exactly as they found it. Iku, Kaneto, Taisuke and their quarry leave the inn through the proper means. Kaii, however, exits out of the window, using this time to quickly scout ahead as he had been taught by Anko. It doesn't take long for the young genin to get a mile or so ahead of his Team, his sensing ability just able to sense that far. Though to do so stresses his chakra to its max and it's the sole thing he can do. Vulnerable to attack by any force he fails to sense in time.

Team 14 catch up with Kaii after thirty minutes or so, his form resting on a tree branch as they pass him. Done with the scouting he drops from the tree and rejoins his team. From then on they continue, as usual, not stopping for anything. The day, as the night did, passes with ease. Of the few people, they pass only a few noticed them and even less greeted them, a greeting they returned.

* * *

The road to Honkanai Village 21:08 | Thursday 19th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire

A few days pass and Team 14 has made a great deal of progress. Their escortee, opposed to what most would believe, has surpassed the limitations of his age and has been able to maintain a pace most civilians would struggle to even keep up for a short time. As much as the team wanted to question his unnatural stamina, they were glad the mission would be done sooner. Iku, however, kept an eye on him just in case he was not as he seemed.

Four days after they set off from Konohagakure, they find themselves deep into one of the Land of Fire's forests. One that held the lone road that went in the direction of Honkanai village. A small village near the border with The Land of Rice. The road was not used much and as a result, is filled with flora and the visibility is near zero. At least for a civilian. Due to the far more grim surroundings, they tighten the formation slightly, with both Kaii and Iku only arm's length away from Genryu. Kaneto's byakugan is active and is actively scanning the soundings for any signs of life. The last of the genin is just as prepared as the others, a lone kunai is held in a reverse grip and hidden to the naked eye.

The deeper they get, the less of the road remains, soon enough the only way they know where they are going is because the trees are unnaturally far apart. A sign a road once pathed between them. At this point, night had taken the last of the natural light from the sky. A fact the shinobi were quite bothered by. Not that they couldn't fight in it but due to the increased risk of attack and fact one shinobi would have to protect Genryu so they know where he is. For a genin team that almost always leave some of them at a disadvantage. Iku stops abruptly, grabbing Kaneto, who is now only two feet ahead of the escortee. Kaneto stops as soon as the hand came into contact with his being which in turn stops Genryu and the rest of the team.

As her team is now completely halted, Iku explains the need to stop. "We'll make our way into the forest slightly, and set up camp. To continue would put Genryu in danger as well as one of you." Not that the elder man could tell but all three genin nod and Kaneto leads the Team into the forests.

For ten minutes they proceed right into the forest, pushing bushes and branches out of their way. Unfortunately, they are unable to find anywhere that would be a good spot to make camp. Well, a good spot for a civilian. Kaii has already slept in trees and worse on his mission with Anko. The others too have slept in the same conditions, though it was on the inside of Konoha the feeling is the same.

"Right, we'll stop here. This is the best we'll find in a forest as overgrown as this is." Iku stops in a small clearing, only a meter or two in diameter. "Taisuke, set up a tent for you, Kaneto, Kaii and Genryuo. I'll keep watch while Kaii and Kaneto scout the immediate surroundings."

The genin nods, placing a lone seal on the ground. Forcing chakra into the seal creates a small puff of chakra that covers the boy's whole body and the area in front of him. Once dissipated, four folded tents and the supplies necessary to pitch them replace the smoke. Needing no further instruction he goes about setting them up in the confined space, giving the most room to Genryu's tent. A civilian should not have to rest uncomfortable, especially when they are paying for protection.

While Taisuke is dealing with the camp, Kaii and Kaneto both delve back out into the forest, searching in their own ways for threats or anything notable. The Rakuyama is first to finish his rounds, landing on a tree branch over the small clearing. Though done, he continues to use his innate sensory ability to keep tabs on Kaneto. The genin, not much older then himself was taking a rather unorthodox path through the trees, and soon enough he darted straight for the camp. His speed was far above his usual and when he arrives at camp, sweat forms on his brow and quickly falls down his temples.

"Iku-sensei Ba-" Before he could finish speaking, an arrow flies past him, embedding itself in the tree next to Kaii's.

 


	13. Chapter XIII

The road to Honkanai Village 22:21 | Thursday 19th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire

The first arrow is not the last. As Kaneto and the rest of Team 14 scrambled to react, another volley is fired into the camp. Luckily, Taisuke is able to grab Genryu and drag him to safety as arrows pierce each tent and fill the small clearing. With their objective safe, Iku and Kaii unsheathe their weapons, a kunai and kusarigama respectively. With his Team warned, The Hyuga takes up a defensive stance, his front towards the direction the arrows came from. Iku leaps and lands next to her genin while Kaii stays in the tree line, doing exactly as he does when sparring.

With little time between them, a second volley is fired. Most arrows land in the clearing, yet some nearly hit Kaneto and Iku, both. The Hyuga, however, made a quick decision and began to form a chakra semi-circle over his body, a jutsu only his clan can perform. Any arrow that hits it shatters or simply bounces off of it, doing nothing to the genin or shell itself. With his teammates otherwise engaged, Kaii activates his sensory abilities. Within a moment of activating it, he finds a mass of weak chakra surrounding their position. Even as weak as the chakra is, there are over a hundred separate chakra networks.

The realization dawns on him quickly, not only are there some bandits. They have attracted an entire bandit band worth of them. Thinking quickly Kaii draws a tanto in his spare hand while also securing the chain for his kusarigama on his right arm. Once ready he silently moves deeper into the forest, leaving his Iku and Kaneto in favour of watching Taisuke and Genryu. He believes they should be the first to know just how bad the situation is. In only a few seconds he finds himself on the branch above the two. Though he was unable to get to them in time as they ran right into the bandits, who now have them encircled.

"Look, boys, we've got an entitled shinobi and an old man. I wonder what they've got for us." A figure laughs as he talks to his friends. His form is larger than the rests, and he holds himself somewhat higher as well. His weapon, unlike the rest, is not drawn. "Alright, cut them down and bring me their riches!"

On cue the ones in the innermost circle of the bandits around Taisuke charge. Unfortunately for them, they find the young genin more than a simple target. He strikes out as each bandit try to swing at him. His kunai finding the gut or vital organ effortlessly. However, one genin cannot fight twenty bandits at once and he soon finds himself overrun and unable to protect Genryu. One bandit sees this and goes for the old man, his blade poised to strike. Kaii readys his weapon, and as the distance between the two nears its end he launches the sickle at the bandit. It hits immediately and the bandit cries out in pain. The sudden outside attack startles the rest and they back off for a moment, appraising the new threat… or lack of one as none see the kusarigama retract as Kaii pulls hastily on its chain.

"Who the fuck was that?" The larger man roars, looking around, his weapon now drawn. "You lot find him, I'll deal with the boy."

The bandits all nod and disperse somewhat, each filling the gaps in the tree line to find the out of view assailant. Meanwhile, Iku and Kaneto find themselves in a far worse situation. The majority of the bandit host has them surrounded, around seventy to two. Even with Iku's great shinobi skills and the Hyuga's taijutsu stance, they are in desperate need of reinforcements. With the extra weight of knowing two of her genin and Genryu are nowhere nearby, a win is almost impossible. The first wave hit hard, katana and what appear to be odachi are their chosen weapons as they close the distance. The second wave holds their grounds, bows in hand as they nock arrows and ready to assist their comrades.

For a while, the bandits are unable to find Kaii, his abilities in subterfuge aiding him greatly. Though they are not perfect nor above that of a chunin. This is all they need as he makes one mistake, he attempts to strike a bandit whose back is turned to him. His kusarigama soars through the air and finds its mark. The blade of the sickle embeds deep into the man's back and an obligatory death rattle is all that is heard. That is enough, however, as the searching bandits all converge on the location of the scream, but that is not all as the sickle refuses to leave the now dead man's flesh. The first bandit to find his friend immediately follows the chain linked to the weapon. Something even a fresh genin would do. He finds his quarry and before Kaii can leap from the branch he lets out a shout.

"Found 'im, boss!" He shouts, though if he wished to say any more the Rakuyama's tanto through his neck saw to it that he didn't. Yet, it is too late as Kaii now finds himself in Taisuke's shoes, with a wall of bandits around him.

It does not end there, as before anyone can act a body is flung into the circle next to Kaii. His teammate Taisuke, badly beaten and bleeding from two rather deep cuts. Following suit the old man is also launched into the now overcrowded circle, his wounds, however, far less serious and only his brittle bones an issue. Kaii, seeing his situation turn ever grim, unravels the chain from around his arm and quickly don's his second tanto, taking up his usual 'X' stance with them. Again, as the bandits are about to charge they are stopped by the presence of the larger bandit leader.

"Ha, so this is the runt that likes to fight from the shadows, eh?" Spittle flies from his mouth as he speaks. His accent, though hard, is very clear and for the most part, he talks like any noble. "I've already lost ten of my guy's thanks to you and this pathetic child you call a shinobi." He points to Taisuke and laughs quickly. "Now that he's out of the way, I think it's your turn… don't you?"

Kaii takes a second to think, he knows he can't win as he is, but he also cannot rely on the power he has inside. He promised to only use it when he's trained more and he has no other options. "I believe you miscounted." Once the words leave his mouth, as quickly as he can he forms the hand seals for a simple fire jutsu.

The bandits see this, and the larger bandit roars. "Kill him now! Before he can finish whatever damned shinobi skill he's planning!"

Kaii curses but continues, knowing this is the only choice. The bandits close the gap quickly, but the first few find themselves thrown back into the ones behind. Creating a domino effect on the bandits. The bandit boss takes a second take on the scene and to his surprise, a four-meter long onyx snake has appeared around his target. Out of instinct, he clicks his tongue and backs away from the serpent.

"Fucking serp-" As the bandit boss tries to curse at the snake, Yuta uncoils from around his partner. Almost in the same split second, a large ball of fire appears before the young shinobi and soon flies true, directly at the bandit leader. He tries to run but find the intense heat too much and soon is engulfed by the flames, but not without one last order. "Ki..ll the...m al...l!"

Seeing their leader burn alive sends a spark to each bandit, but it was not one Kaii expected. Each of them seems reinvigorated, yet they also fall back and are soon lost to the void of darkness around them. The Rakyuama takes this chance to check on his teammate… who's still breathing but the wounds are getting worse and without help within the next hour, he will die. Kaii may not harbour any love for the Ishigaki, but he doesn't want him dead either. A quick rummage in his pouch soon produces a first aid kit. Using the little knowledge taught to him by Anko, he applies gauze and bandages to each wound. The fixes are temporary, and Kaii knows it, but the bandits are still out there and he also has no clue what's happened to Iku and Kaneto.

"Yuta, watch Taisuke and Genryu. I'll find Iku-sensei, she'll know what to do." Without waiting for a reply he leaps to the nearest tree branch, instantly using his sensory abilities to try and locate the last two members of his team.

It takes him less than a second to pinpoint what he believes to be the remnants of his team. He doesn't hesitate to launch himself over to them, taking no chances he doesn't even try to silence his steps and leaps. His tanto's are both redrawn as he makes one last jump, this time out of the trees and right to the sides of his Sensei and teammate. Who are in bad shape, both having sustained a number of cuts and stab wounds. Though neither are seemingly feeling the pain as they both hold their ground fiercely. Kaii instinctually slides into his 'X' stance and ready to fight.

"Iku-sensei, what the hell is going on?" Kaii questions, never taking his eyes off of the bandits to his front.

Iku looks over her shoulder for a second. "Kaii? Where's Taisuke and Genryu?" Once she asks a question of her own her head returns to its front.

"They are with Yuta, and for now safe." The Rakuyama answers as a set of bandits climb over the bodies of their dead comrades to get to the boy. He parries their blows, but something seems off and the bandits are able to attack without needed to catch their breath. This constant wave of attacks forces the genin's defences down and as he tries to dodge to the side he finds a small dagger in his side.

Likewise, both Iku and Kaneto also face another wave. They also have the same issue, as the bandits never seem to run out of strength, and their assault simply wears down the veteran kunoichi and her genin. This wave lasts only a few minutes, but those minutes were hell, even for Kaii whose experienced the threats of a C-rank before. As the bandits back up again, Iku turns and grabs both of her genin in a tight grip. She ushers a few words in a hushed tongue before she body flickers with then two to the nearest tree branch.

Kaii wonders exactly why she moved them, but a volley of arrows soon pieces the ground they once occupied. Answering the boys pondering without a word needing to be spared. The bandits look to one another, then back to the spot now filled with arrows. Soon an air of grumbling fills the air as the once cohesive circle breaks into smaller bits, as they seemingly search for the three shinobi that just left the clearing.

Iku takes a knee on the branch, her breaths are laboured and the pain from the wounds now seem to be affecting her. "Kaii, Kaneto, I need you two to try and hold up a group of the bandits." Both nod, neither really wanting to work together, however, those exact thoughts are deep within their conscious. The pair are suppressing anything unimportant to the current situation, even their inherent disdain. "It doesn't need to be for long. Just long enough for me to kill the rest. Can you do it?"

Kaneto is the first to answer, his breaths too laboured. Something he tries to hide. "Yes, Iku-sensei, we can do it. Come on Kaii." He leaps from the branch, expecting Kaii to follow with little fanfare or argument. Which to Iku's surprise he does, it would seem her Kage was right, space and time were all that was needed to heal the broken bond.

The two land on the edge of the clearing they just fought on, back to back with their weapons drawn. An obvious target, but one around eighteen of the remaining bandits decide to take on themselves. Electing to ignore telling their comrades as the elder kunoichi is still hidden. Kaneto elbows the back of Kaii, his eyes bulging as he whispers something,

"Kaii, I'll try and break the group down further, can you handle half of them?" For once Kaii doesn't hear the typical uptight Hyuga, he hears Kaneto as Taisuke does. A teammate.

"I got it, just don't die. You can't take that from me." Kaii jokes, even though the situation is extremely tense. Kaneto laughs briefly before he leaps over the bandits, taunting a few as he does.

However, his taunts don't do much and only five of the bandits break off from the group. Kaii just sighs, he knows even with his long wound in his side that he is far better off then Kaneto. At least to those looking on. A second sigh is all that escapes his lips as the bandits charge him, this time one by one. A single worn down shinobi is very much an equal as a bandit. No matter the shinobi, once tired enough anyone can kill them. A fact these particular bandits seem to know very well. The first swing at Kaii is deflected with ease, the second also and the next few waves as well. The man doesn't seem too bright and opts for the same type of strikes as Kaii is slowly pushed back.

Soon enough the young Rakuyama finds an opening in the bandit's assault. Quickly planting his tanto in the man's gut and pulling each blade out of the man in the opposite direction. The effect is obvious as the man's centre soon flings a large amount of blood in all directions. Coating the young genin and those behind and next to the two of them. This enrages the remaining twelve bandits all lunge at the boy. Finding no way to stop all of the attacks he jumps over the bandits, earning him a few cuts and a stab wound for his trouble. He repeats the process, killing one bandit at a time, but earning a counter strike as he tries to dodge out of the way of the barrage of blows and swords.

Soon enough, his coat is filled with holes and his clothes underneath are no better. Blood stains them as no more than six bandits remain standing. Each surprised at the young boy's determination and abilities. Ones they seem to finally be estimating correctly, as they are a good ten feet away from him. Kaii breathes heavily as sweat rolls down his forehead and temples, merging with small amounts of blood that come from a small graze above his temple.

"Fuck… I… can't go… on like this." The young genin comments silently to himself, sheathing the tanto in his right hand. "I must… must… give in... to… my 'true self'." As he speaks aloud, a small snake exits his coat sleeve through one of the many tears that line it. Not even all the way out of the forearm seal the snake looks directly into his summoners eyes. Kaii looks back, and in the next instant, his eyes change form and contract to form a thin slit.

His skin darkens quickly and his hair begins to part on both back sides as four horns begin to grow and after on a second stop once at full length. His sclera is next to change, darkening as quickly as his skin does, and stopping only a few shades of grey above that of his skins. Maroon marks form around his eyes and swiftly spiking down next to his nose and off from the sides towards his ears. The lines grow thick quickly, soon resembling those of the Snake Sannin himself. A black chakra cloak surrounds him closely, hardly able to tell where it starts and stops.

The wounds on his body begin to slowly heal as if they were being burned shut. The bandits look on, most finally feeling fear, the rest simply confused. However, it doesn't take long for the rest to bathe in the fear of the being in front of them. As before they can truly understand just what happened to the young Rakuyama, he vanishes. Only to reappear behind the bunch of sorry bandits, his blades both in hand again. With great vigour he slashes at the bandits, each hit cutting deep, and in some cases completely cutting through bone and muscles. Relieving a few of the men of their limbs and one of his head. Soon enough five bandits fall before the Rakuyama, their bodies broken and disfigured beyond recognition. Blood pooling in the dirt, making the ground unstable for the remaining few.

The bandits attempt to flee, turning tail and heading in whatever direction they can to escape the wrath of the boy. Yet, it is all for nought, as Kaii simply body flickers to each one before landing a killing blow to their necks. Flooding the already over pooled dirt beneath his feet. Only one remains after Kaii had dealt with the ones who tried to flee. His pants were wet, but not from blood, no, he was truly feeling fear. The fear Kaii's aura of malice forces those too weak to resist it to feel. Seeing that his work was nearly done, Kaii slowly saunters over to the last bandit. Sheathing his tantos as each step brings the man closer to him. Kaii's face is covered in a deep crimson, blood of those he's already slaughtered. A sign to the bandit that he's hopelessly outmatched, and soon will join his comrades. Stopping short of the man, Kaii looks him dead in the eye.

"You were a fool to attack my Team." Kaii seethes at the bandit, every word laced with malice and disdain. Not all directed at the man, with some at the corpses around him. He begins to form hand seals again, this time it was quicker and took him less than a second to complete.

Kaii breaths in and after a moment forms a half tiger seal, holding it in front of him as he breathes back out. Fire lashes out of his maw, narrowly missing the bandit. As the fire begins to form a circle around the bandit and the Rakuyama, Kaneto lands on a branch just outside of the fire circle. He looks around, but find his stomach too weak and he begins to throw up. The pure slaughter, limbless bodies and viscera prove too much. After emptying his stomach, he falls from the branch, but with his last ounce of strength, he looks to his teammate. Though the scene he finds is far worse than the pool of dirty, mud and blood. Kaii's features are not only covered in blood, but he dons a sick smile as he watches the fire slowly finishes forming a circle.

That was all Kaneto could take, as his consciousness leaves his body. At the same time, the fire begins to reform. Slowly but surely a serpent slithers from the ring of fire, it's body nothing but an inferno. It doesn't take long for the fire snake to be fully formed, and lunge at the bandit. Within seconds it makes contact, fulminating in a small explosion as Kaii body flickers from the ring into a nearby tree. The same tree Kaneto had just fallen from. The fire burns out quickly, the bloodied ground not giving it much to work with. Once fully out Kaii marvels at the charred remains of his last target. Content with the outcome, he activates his senses, looking for his sensei. Like before, she was not hard to find, but her chakra signature is weak… too weak for someone of her strength.

In a feat of pure strength, Kaii pushes off from the ground. His speed has greatly increased since he unleashed his 'true form', making the distance between him and his Sensei's chakra signature seem like nothing. In only a few moments he finds himself next to Iku, who is knelt before the last of the bandits. A fact only known to Kaii. His Sensei looks up to her genin but finds nothing she recognises, not even his eyes. Her strength failing her, she moves somewhat away from the boy. She eyes him cautiously, but before she can decide how to respond to him the bandits take the chance to attack her. Her guard is down as a volley of arrows is aimed and let loose at her. Most miss their mark, but a few lands in the kunoichi's body. Two in her right arm and the last in her right leg.

Right behind the volley is a trio of bandits, who think the confusion caused by Kaii is enough to attack the Jonin. Though they'd be right in any other situation, Kaii swiftly intercepts them and before they realised it two of them had perished with a single slash of his tanto's. The last is able to enter Iku's personal bubble, but that is as far as he gets. A lone kunai flies through the air from out of the void, hitting him square in the chest. He flies back from the sheer force of the kunai, landing on the bodies of the other two bandits.

Kaii takes a moment to look around, but his lust to finish off the bandits persuades his mind to focus on that task. The last of the bandits look on in horror as the young genin, half their age at the very least, strides over to them. His chakra cloak flaring as it creates six separate serpents, each having formed from his back. Unable to move they simply stare as he inches closer and soon enough he is only a few meters from them. Without a single word each of the chakra serpents lash out at the bandits.

Blood sprays everywhere as the serpents attack the bodies of the bandits without pause. Ripping limbs off with great force, biting down on their necks to the point the bones are audibly heard snapping. Iku watches on, exhausted and slightly wounded, as her genin performs one of the more brutal slaughters she's ever seen. Her expression is solemn, but not fearful or even one of worry. She knew he needed an outlet for his inner thought, though to manifest in such a way was not what she expected. The attack, or more accurately butchering of the bandits, lasted a few seconds. The forest falls silent, the screams of the bandits fading while Kaii returns to his Sensei's side.

"Iku-sensei… are you okay?" As Kaii asks, blood continues to stain his face while droplets fall form and fall from his chin. For the first time, Iku is seeing his 'true self'. His four horns from his head to the dark grey sclera and skin. She cannot stop herself from looking at each change and back again. Kaii is no longer the genin she met at the academy, he's a brutal shinobi.

The thoughts are there, but she doubts he is wholly himself. Any genin would cringe at the scenes before him. The blood everywhere and the eviscerated bodies. Yet he's perfectly calm, eerily so. "I'm fine, Kaii..." Once she answers, something clicks in her mind. Where are Kaneto and Taisuke… and for that matter Yuta and Genryu. "Kaii, where are the others? Are they hurt or… dead?" Her mouth becomes dry at the very idea of her genin being dead. It would not only be a first for her, but it would break her as well.

"Taisuke and Genryu are being taken care of by Yuta. The bandits got the better of Taisuke and he was badly injured, while Genryu was only slightly bruised. It would seem Taisuke did all he could to protect him from harm before a brute of a man attacked him." Kaii relays exactly what he was asked of, explaining their conditions with ease. His mind not only being clear but free from the thoughts he usually focuses on. The only change is the tone and aura around him, it's far darker and sinister. "After I left Yuta with Taisuke and Genryu, I went to help you and Kaneto… as you know. After that, we split up and I have not seen him since."

Iku's head falls slightly. "Damn, I'll go to Yuta and see how the two of them are… can you find Kaneto while I do it?" She asks but knows the answer, so instead of waiting she walks in the direction Kaii is pointing in.

The young Rakuyama watches as he Sensei slowly walks to the aid of Yuta. The ethereal snakes on his back fade back into his chakra cloak as his body begins to revert. His skin lightens and after only a moment the seal burns a hole in the back of his coat. He tenses as he feels the seal lock his 'true self' back up, a slight pain accompanying it. This is the first time he's actually been fully in control of himself and been able to seal it again. When he did so during training he had Yuta help him and the process was completely painless.

Back to himself, he closes his eyes, getting his sense to activate and become his sole focus. He scans his immediate surroundings, slowly increasing the area he surveys. Soon enough, next to the spot he incinerated a bandit, he finds a chakra not faint nor is it weak. Content he opens his eyes and sprints in the direction of the signal. Soon enough he comes to the body of his teammate, still breathing but laying in a puddle of what seems to be vomit. Kaii contains his laughter as he picks up the boy and throws him other his shoulder. He'll remember this but only when it's convenient.

After a few minutes, he rejoins Iku and the now awake Genryu and Taisuke. Both look far better then they did when Kaii left them in his partners care, with Taisuke covered in the bloodied bandages Kaii himself placed on him. The young genin smiles as he sees the Rakuyama approach them, and it becomes far bigger when he sees Kaneto over his shoulder. Somehow he ignores the blood covering both of the genin, more so the black haired boy. Kaii waits until he's next to Yuta to place Kaneto onto the floor. He sees Iku immediately pull out another first aid kit, and walk over to him.

"Good job Kaii." A genuine smile appears on her face as she inspects the Hyuga's body. "No major injuries and apart from his chakra being drained quite heavily he'll be fine." She stops talking for a moment to apply any needed bandages to the Hyuga. It doesn't take long until she finishes and puts her first aid kit away. "Right… we need to be far more careful. I don't know how those bandits were able to find and attack us but… well, it doesn't matter as long as we make sure we are prepared next time."

Both Taisuke and Kaii could tell Iku is extremely bothered that she was unprepared for the attack. A Jonin-sensei somehow failed to notice a huge gathering of bandits and on top of that failed to protect them. She had let herself worry too much about both Kaii and Kaneto, something she'll not be doing for the rest of the journey. She attempts to put the thoughts out of her mind as she stands from her crouched position over Kanteo's body.

"Alright, you three deserve some rest, so we'll move a little ways from here and make a new camp. Once there I'll keep guard while you sleep." Iku's explains to the three awake as she picks up Kaneto and throws him over her shoulder. "Collect your things if you dropped them during the battle, I'll move to find a new camp. If you take longer then ten minutes I will come and find you so try to hurry."

She smiles at her two genin while throwing the uneasy Genryu over her other shoulder. Next, she leaps to the nearest tree, leaving both Taisuke and Kaii alone to do as they need to. The Ishigaki just sits there with a slight smile on his face as Kaii looks around him, only one of his weapons was lost to him. His Kusarigama, a weapon he paid quite a high price for. Without so much as a word Kaii walks from the genin and looks for his weapon. One that should be nearby as this is where he left Taisuke with Yuta. The black snake follows behind him and soon enough is perched back around Kaii's neck.

The two of them search for four minutes before Kaii finds his weapon, still embedded in the back of the bandit he killed with it. His stride is slow as he lessens the distance between him and his weapon, soon enough he kneels down next to the body. He places a firm grip around the weapons handle as he places his foot on the body for leverage. With one forceful tug, the weapon releases itself from the corpse. A quick wipe of the sickle with his coat cleans the blade and he sheaths it back onto his back.

As he turns to leave in the direction his sensei had gone, Taisuke appears next to him. "Kaii… erm… I don't know how to say this but..." Before he can finish he finds himself cut off by the still eerily calm Rakuyama.

"I don't need your thanks, Taisuke-san, I did as any teammate would do." Kaii states, sounding a lot colder then he expected. "Besides, you did your best as we all did."

"Thanks anyway… Kaii. Kaneto is wrong about you… you're a great shinobi, one that Konoha must be glad to have." The Ishigaki fidgets as he talks, probably completely out of his element. "Can I… can I ask you something?"

Kaii looks at Taisuke for a few moments, trying to gauge what he wants to ask. "If I can answer I will, what do you want to know?"

"How...how do you cope with your first kill? I can't stop visualizing it, whenever I blink I see the bandits I cut down… it's wrong how life can be taken so quickly." Taisuke's voice begins to tremble, his fidgeting becoming far worse and he averts his gaze from the Rakuyama. Without thinking, Kaii places a hand on his shoulder and lets a short silence take over the field.

"Taisuke… I don't cope with it… I repress it. I refuse to think actively about it. That day I nearly died, twice and to top it off I lost something dear to me. My sleep is plagued by the dreams of that night… but I move on, I keep advancing. I cannot force Konoha to accept me if I cannot accept that I have killed. It gets easier but it will never leave you." The Rakuyama stops for a short time, letting all of his words sink in. "If it ever becomes too much, talk to Iku-sensei, she'll be able to help you. Just remember you survived because you were able to act."

Internally Kaii didn't know how his words would help. To himself they are meaningless. He cannot repress it, it lingers just under the surface waiting for him to lose composure or sleep to strike. Creating a vivid scene he cannot turn off or stop. His 'true form' only bringing them closer to escaping and breaking him in two. That on top of his deep-seated hatred for Konoha threaten a loss of control he cannot allow. So he keeps trying to move on but he doesn't. Yet If he tells Taisuke that, then the poor soul might break himself.

"Thank you… Kaii." The thanks are sincere and Taisuke nods once to Kaii. "We should be getting back to Iku-sensei. Or she might think there are more bandits around." The Rakuyama agrees and both of the genin head in the direction of Iku.

* * *

Undisclosed Location 00:32 | Friday 20th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire

Atop one of the many trees present in a dark and gloomy forest, rest a shadowy figure. He looks down as two smaller figures below he both walk off deeper into the forest. Yet he doesn't follow them, he instead starts to perform a set of hand seals. Soon enough he finishes them and bites his thumb and plants it hard into the tree branch below him. After an obligatory puff of chakra smoke, a bird-like creature looks at the figure. The bird looks like a rather large owl, it's feathers start out black but slowly fade to grey, its eyes are both closed and a long grey beard rests under its beak.

"Orelgeus... do you have anything for me?" The figure asks, he himself pulling out a scroll.

The owl nods sagely. "That you do, Takumi-san." He ruffles his wing for a second, searching a very well hidden pouch. After a moment he pulls out a scroll and hands it to his summoner. "Will you be sending anything back home?"

The man reads the scroll quickly, finding nothing out of place he incinerates the scroll. "As I expected, those two are still causing me headaches. However, to answer your question, Orelgeus, No, but I would like to send a scroll to the primary hideout. You will know who to give it too."

The owl takes the scroll and places it into his pouch, hiding it once he's done. "Is that all, Takumi-san?"

"It is, but I will require you when I finally get back to Honkanai." The figure comments, looking in the direction the two smaller figures went in.

The owl says nothing more, he just simply returns to wherever he came from via the same chakra smoke. The figure, however, remains ever vigilant.

_That boy is very interesting. Perhaps my superior would be interested in him. I shall watch him closely while I can._ He muses before disappearing in a similar chakra smoke.

* * *

The road to Honkanai 00:38 | Friday 20th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire

It doesn't take long for the two genin to rejoin their teammate, Sensei and escoutee. They are welcomed back with a smile from Iku, who sits by a small fire in the centre of four tents. Kaneto is now awake and resting on a log positioned at the edge of one of the tents. Unlike Iku he doesn't don a smile, instead, he seems irritated or annoyed. The Rakuyama cannot tell which but he elects to ignore him for the moment as he joins Iku around the fire. Taisuke, on the other hand, walks over to Kaneto, wanting to see how his friend is coping.

Once at his side, Taisuke sits next to him. Silence lingers for a while as he tries to decide on how to ask his question. "Kaneto… I'm glad you are awake but are you feeling okay? You looked really bad when I saw Iku-sensei sling you over her shoulder."

The Hyuga doesn't answer right away, but he does turn to look his teammate in the eye. "I'm fine… just tired, thank you for asking Taisuke." The silence takes over again as the two sit there for a few minutes. Neither really know what to say to one another after what had just occurred. Even less about how to go about dealing with it… even with Kaii's words of advice Taisuke is lost. "The outca… Kaii looks like hell doesn't he. Is he alright?" The words come out slowly and mostly seemed forced which nearly floors Taisuke with confusion.

"You care about Kaii?" Taisuke asks more then interrogates, but the fact he jumps up as he asked it would make it seem like the latter. Not only is he confused but his feelings are conflicted. He likes Kaii, even if Kaneto doesn't but for him to ask how the Rakuyama is doing is extremely out of character.

Kaneto clicks his tongue. He can't lie and say he doesn't. The outcast has proved he is capable, and not only that he's able to aside his differences and work with his team. "As long as he's our teammate, yes, but once we are promoted he's my enemy again." Again his words seem forced as if he's not even sure he can keep to it.

A quick laugh comes from the young Ishigaki as he sits back down. "In that case, he's fine, though I don't know how he is. It looks like he should have some wounds but I can't see any at all."

"It does look like his coat should but I didn't see any either. As long as he's okay it doesn't matter… what does is whatever was up with him when he incinerated one of the bandits." He receives a clueless gaze from Taisuke, which prompts the realisation that he was not there. "Ah, right you didn't see it. We split up to make the bandits more manageable and when I came back to help him… well, he was different. Not just his physical appearance but so was his chakra, it felt like nothing I've ever felt before."

The two spend the rest of their time awake discussing what Kaneto saw. Neither one truly understanding it but both agreeing that they should keep it to themselves. To mention it to Kaii could derail the very bond that took this long to form. On top of creating an even greater level of hostility the mission really doesn't need. After they are done, Kaneto remains in his seat as Taisuke heads for his tent.

_When did he become so strong? Is this what caused him to be in the trauma care for so long? What the hell is he? No matter… I will kill him and rid Konoha of a possible threat, once the mission is over._ Kaneto reiterates to himself as he heads for his own tent.

As Kaneto pass Kaii, he gives him a nod of respect. One that is returned as Iku and Genryu watch on. The latter of which turns to Kaii after Kaneto enters his tent. He looks to be appeasing the boy as if he's judging him without ever having seen him fight.

"Thank you Kaii-san. If not for you, I would have perished by those bandits." The old man's toothless smile sets Kaii on edge.

"It's a part of the mission, nothing more." Kaii returns, he too deciding it's time for rest, standing from his position. "Iku-sensei, Genryu-san, good night."

Iku returns the gesture, as does Genryu as Kaii enters one of the last two unoccupied tents. Silence is the only thing left once he's fully entered his tent. The remaining two having nothing to discuss, the old man bids Iku good night as she leaps to a branch over the camp. Ready for a night of guarding the camp while her genin gets some well earned rest, and hopefully, they don't dwell on their experiences too much.

 


	14. Chapter XIV

Outskirts of Honkanai Village 10:43 | Sunday 22th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire

Two days have passed since the incident occurred. The wounds have healed mostly, at least those the four shinobi bear on their skin. Those that dwell beneath, however, are very much present, a fact Taisuke and Kaneto had not expected. Their Sensei does all she can to alleviate the burdens as they made camp, while Kaii kept to himself, his own demons already too deep. It has been a few hours since they broke camp and just as the sun is closing in on the peak of its arch, the small wooden walls of Honkanai Village come into view. Without any mention, the pace of the elder man increases as a small grin begins to plaster itself across his face.

Team 14 follow suit, keeping their formation solid. None wish to be lax as the end of their mission is in sight. Only an hour at most and their hardships would be over, their pay justly earned and the experiences put behind them. At least that's what they hope to happen, but as the gate comes into view, out of thin air two shinobi blink into existence. On instinct, Iku body flickers to the front of the group while the rest form a defensive position around Genryu. Each taking a cardinal direction with only the front, where Iku stands not covered by the genin.

The first of the two shinobi is short, at least by Konoha standards. Her muted grey eyes are firmly on Team 14 as her short black hair rests in two long braids, bound by a white cloth. At the ends is an unusual golden ring, with spikes in varying directions. Her attire is not too dissimilar from Iku's, as she too dons a typical shinobi uniform but she wears a sleeveless haori in place of a flak jacket. Her top is the usual black, but it too lacks sleeves and as far as the team can tell the back is also missing, though their angle does not offer a conclusive answer. Her trousers are as typical as it gets, along with the shinobi kit strapped to her left leg. Both of her forearms are covered by long onyx armbands, though from the distance, none can tell if they are purely aesthetic or for defensive purposes. The last notable feature that Team 14 can tell is the lack of shinobi sandals, hers are different and resemble those worn by the lands far east of Fire.

The second shinobi is far less… subtle. He stands tall, letting his muscles flex instinctively as he stares the team down. His height is far greater than that of his companions, bordering on six foot five, maybe six foot six. Again, the distance between them creates a lack of evidence to support either. This shinobis hair is far less interesting, as it is white and short, however, his eyebrows are vastly more outlandish. They are long and at the ends curve upwards, doing a lot to bring anyone's attention to the crimson eyes below them. His upper body is covered by a black top and white jacket, both left open, exposing his muscular chest and what seems like a vicious scar. Under the jacket lay two belts, one above the other with the lower one just under the belt hooks of his black shinobi pants. On the upper left is a katana, sheathed in a long white scabbard which also sports floral patterns of some sort. The grip of the katana is wrapped in a crimson cloth, with the pommel a nice silver to finish it off nicely. The sleeves of his jacket are rolled up, with black combat closed toed sandals to bring his attire together, whether or not he realises it.

For a for minutes both parties are content to a simply standoff. Neither aware of the other's intentions or loyalties. Iku's mind is set racing as she places a hand behind her back coughs once, getting the attention of Kaii and Taisuke, who stand at the flanks of Genryu. In an instant, she conveys a message via hand signs. Afterwards, she relaxes her stance and begins to slowly close the distance between herself and the two shinobi. The shorter of the two doesn't respond, but the larger begins to smirk as he crosses his arms.

Once only ten or so feet away from the two, Iku stops and begins to speak. "Would you two please allow us to pass?" Her words are chosen carefully. She doesn't care who they are, she only cares about getting past safely, something the wicked look in the man's eye could complicate.

A brief silence ensues as the kunoichi inspects Iku from her position. After a moment or two, she responds. "Konoha-san, we will take Genryu-sama from you." The woman's words seem respectful yet they a muted and emotionless. As she finishes she pulls out a collection of bills from her pouch. "This should cover the expenses."

Iku immediately becomes very tense as the woman waves the collection of bills. Money is only ever flaunted when someone wants something, and on top of that, the missions bill was settled back in Konoha. _So why would she be offering more?_ Iku finds many answers in her mind but not one seemed to fit the situation. "Before I leave Genryu-san in your care… please, can I have your names?"

The kunoichi frowns at the question, stuffing the money back into her pouch with a great deal of force. It seems like she is about to launch at Iku, but a hand appears on her shoulder. That of her companion. "Excuse my partner, I am Daichi Ryu and that is Kawa Akari." He gestures to the kunoichi at his side. "Now, if you don't mind, please allow Genryu-sama to come with us. The elder council is expecting him." Like the tone of his companion, his words appear emotionless.

More then any normal shinobi would be, but before Iku can ask another question, Genryu taps her on the shoulder. Somehow he moved quickly enough for all 3 genin to miss, that or they were too busy keeping an eye out. "Iku-san, thank you for seeing me safely to my destination. Those are my personal bodyguards… before you ask, they were on a mission for the council, which is why I contracted Konoha for my escort."

The elder man hobbles over to Akari and Ryu. When right next to them, all of Team 14 hear muffled curses. Genryu turns around after a second or two, waving goodbye as the two shinobi follow him into the village. All of the team watch as they are eventually lost in the distance, with the team now all stood together. A sigh soon escapes Iku's lips as she turns to her genin.

"We'll spend the rest of today and tonight here, that way we can return to Konoha at full speed tomorrow." All three of the genin look relieved at the idea of spending some time relaxing after the incident. "Right let's go."

On her word they all begin to make their way into the village, passing a small guard detail at the front gate. They say nothing but nod as the shinobi pass them, more than likely due to the fact they were seen with a village elder. No reason to question someone in that position. The village itself is very outdated, with its buildings all being made from various woods and only a basic layer of plaster on the outside to help keep the heat in. Its roads are nothing but dirt, with the buildings themselves creating what is and is not a road. Unlike Konoha, there are no telegraph poles which must mean the village has no power. At least that is what Kaii believes as he inspects each and every detail he can as his teammates converse lightly.

Soon enough they arrive at what they can only assume to be a district solely for travellers by a row of three or four inns and a tavern or two as well. The architecture too is also different, it's more modern, the wooden buildings replaced by ones with stone and wood, the rooftops to utilizing tiles instead of wooden planks. The road is far cleaner and less dusty as a few pop up stalls litter the sides leaving a good amount of room for carts to pass down the centre. Iku makes the decision to have them stay at the first inn, not bothered by the costs or even the quality of the stay. A place to sleep needs only that, a place to sleep for a shinobi. Any more would be too much and could very well cause a lack of discipline.

The doors to the smallest of the inn's open easily, well maintained and recently cleaned. The floor beneath the team as they make their way to the front desk is wooden planks. Each like the doors recently cleaned as well as covered in a few rugs to add colour to the otherwise brown overtone of the room. The walls too are wooden planks, but like the floor have an arrangement of additions to help it stand out. A few portraits hang as well as landscape pieces of art, depicting what looks like varying placers from the Five Great Nations. The main desk for the inn is placed directly opposed to the doors into the establishment, at the other end of the rather small room. The desk is a lighter wood than the rest of the room, taking up most of the far wall, with cabinets and shelves behind it with items varying from keys and paper.

Two figures stand behind the desk, a rather short man and a woman who is slightly taller than the former. The man has short brown hair which is well groomed and slicked back, his clothes are a simple formal worn in monotone colours. His co-worker shares the same coloured formal attire, hers only the female uniform opposed to the male one. Her hair is held up in a simple and rather formal ponytail, with the auburn tail hanging over her right shoulder. Both hold small smiles on the faces as they watch the four shinobi slowly ameble over to the desk. In only a moment, Iku is leant on the edge of the desk, looking to and from the two attendants.

The first to talk is the woman, her tone is open and welcoming. "Welcome to Sleepy Owl Inn and Natural Spring, how may we help you today, Shinobi-san?" She sends a warm smile to each of the genin before returning her gaze to that of the eldest shinobi.

"A single large room, with both dinner and breakfast. Oh, and sometime in the Spring as well." Iku is quick to answer the woman's query, pulling out a wallet from her pouch and beginning to fidget with the notes inside.

"Certainly, do you wish to enter the Spring now or later?" The man is the one to ask this time, his college is busy looking through a decently sized hard backed book. One that can only be assumed to hold the vacancies of the Inn.

Iku places a few bills on the desk and quickly pockets her purse. "Later, we'd like to be seen to our room first." As she finishes the Inn worker closes the book and turns to the wall behind her. Filled with keys, along with numbers above each hook. After a moment she takes one of the keys and turns back to Iku and her genin.

"You are on the first floor, room three. Please enjoy your stay and feel free to ask us for anything during your stay." The worker places the keys onto the desk, taking the money as she does. In the next moment, she places the money into a till and both her and her college bow to their guests as Iku takes the keys from the desk.

The bow is short and curt, and once finished the man leaves his position behind the desk and gestures for his guests to follow. They do with Iku leading her team as they pass down an extremely well-furnished corridor. On both walls is art, ranging from simple landscapes to more exotic portraits of various things, from people to objects. A few cabinets are placed in the hall, plants on top of them along with other furnishings. Of the genin team, only Taisuke actually takes in his surroundings, looking intently at every piece of art and arrangement of flowers. The remaining two, however, are more occupied with internal thoughts, thoughts of the battle past and the lingering tension between them.

After a short while, they reach a rather well looked after oak staircase, freshly polished and letting off small glints as the sun's rays hit the wood. In quick fashion, all five make their way up the stairs and down another beautifully decorated hallway, with doors on each side at short intervals. They pass doors on the left side and on the third the inn worker stops and bows, gesturing with both of his arms to the door itself.

"This will be your accommodation, if it is not to your liking, shinobi-san, please informs us at the front desk and we will do all we can to fix any and all issues." He ends his bow as his last word leaves his maw, smiling again at the four of them before taking the same route back towards the reception.

Waiting until the inn worker is out of earshot, Iku places the key into the slot of the door. Turning it slowly as she consciously listens out for the fading steps of the polite worker. The steps don't take long to fully fade into nothingness and with them gone, Iku finishes turning the key and swings the door inward. Sliding the key back out of the door, she and the genin enter and get themselves situated in the room. Like the corridors, the room is well furnished with flowers on nearly every flat surface and paintings on the walls. Four beds line the wall to the left as they enter through the door, each no bigger than a single but covered in a thick blanket and at the head is at least two rather plump pillows.

Kaneto and Taisuke chose the two beds towards the window, placing their pouches onto the bed as they stretch. The last few days had been arduous and both were ready to start chatting like they had always done, which fills Iku with a smile. Seeing that they can revert to themselves so easily must mean they are not stuck on the fight. Though in the next instance the smile fades, she cannot be sure. Anyone, especially a shinobi can place on a mask and seem fine to those looking in. While his sensei is busy studying his two comrades, Kaii takes the bed closest to the door. Nearly mirroring the others he places his pouch onto the bed, but along with it, he unsheaths both his kusarigama and his tanto's. Both weapons are bloodstained, with the blades themselves looking dull and in need of sharpening. A task Kaii doesn't ever look forward too, yet he positions himself on the edge of the bed, with his back to the floor, and rummages through his pouch. Quickly enough he pulls out a small stone, grey in colour with a slight sheen. One that looks like it's been recently soaked in water, yet none could be found.

The first weapon he chooses is his kusarigama, the one most in need of a clean. First, he places the stone in front of him on the bed, keeping the short side of the rectangle facing him. His next motion is to rub the edged side of his sickle against the stone, slowly, methodically and with great precision. A small amount of sound is made as he rubs the two together, but it doesn't take long for it to be done. In all an hour passes as he sharpens both of his tanto's and cleans all three of his weapons. As he did so, Iku, Kaneto and Taisuke had asked if he wanted to go to the spring. He did but was so entranced by his task that he hadn't heard them.

With his weapons clean and sharp, he places them back into their sheaths and rests them on the bed. A quick survey of the room finally clues him into the fact his team has gone to the spring and not left him. Not overly bothered by the fact, he lays down onto his bed and activates his senses, feeling the surroundings to find his Sensei. After only a moment or so, he finds her chakra signal and that of his two teammates. They are all together in what he assumes is the spring, not that he has seen it for reference. As he is about to exit the sensation, he picks up another chakra signal. This one, however, is directly above him. At least a few floors are all that is between them.

Kaii's instincts begin to kick in, and without even thinking he places all of his weapons back onto his person and grabs his pouch. Without any hesitation he leaps from his bed and vigorously opens the door, leaving it to close without him as he launches down the hall. Keeping his sense on, he tracks the signal as he manoeuvres up the oak staircase, nimbly avoiding anyone he encounters while charging upwards. With his speed at its max, it doesn't take long for the genin to be at the top floor of the Inn, the signal only a few inches above the ceiling. He looks around, attempting to find a way to access the roof without actually having to open a window. Though none are there and without lamenting on the fact he sets his eyes on the nearest window.

It takes little effort to force open the window and apply chakra to his feet. Taking a few steps back he charges at the window and vaults through it, grabbing the top of the window as he does to help swing him up to the roof. The force and momentum from the action land him perfectly on the roof, only for him to turn around and be floored by the chakra signal. The pressure never lets up on his back as whoever it is, grabs his hands and forces them under their knee. With all of his limbs subdued, Kaii stops struggling and tries to turn his head to see who the attacker is. With all of his strength, he turns his head as far as he can. What he sees sparks a new wave of resistance in him, so much so he is able to free his arms and push his assailant off of his person.

Once free he rolls to his feet, poised to counterattack the assailant, turned defender. Wasting no time he leaps at the defender, twirling in the air. As he closes the last few feet he extends his right foot to connect a hard roundhouse kick to the opponents head. Unfortunately, the assailant is too fast and as his foot finds its target, Kaii realises that instead of the head he's hit the kunoichi's arm. One she tactfully placed in between the kick's trajectory. Before Kaii can recoil from the attack she grabs his ankle, spinning him around before planting him into the roof. An audible crunch is heard, loud enough to be reasonably heard by those at least two floors below the encounter.

The roof craters slightly at the boy's impact, his indentation clearly visible as he pushes himself up to a sitting position. "Anko-sensei… was that truly necessary?" He questions the woman, fully aware now of who it is as he rubs the back of his now sore head.

The woman brushes herself off, before standing straight and locking gazes with the young genin. "No, but I'm sure you knew that… now, how long have you known I was following you and the rest of your team?" Her words are slightly cold, especially when they are addressing someone who was once her genin.

"Just now… well… when we entered the village. The same itch I felt left and I thought it must have been someone from Konoha." Kaii answers truthfully, getting up fully from the last attack he sustained. His back in slight pain as he does so. "If you are here does it mean that I'm to be returned to Team Anko?" His question seems to be filled with concern, but Anko knows it to be fabricated.

"No, I'm here on my own mission, one you are getting in the way of by the way..." She tries to scold the genin, but he just smirks. She scowls at him and a battle of silence occupies the air between them for only a couple of moments, but Anko gives in to his smirk. Knowing too well he'll figure it out soon enough and she may as well contain as much information as she can. "Fine, I'm here to spy on Genryu. Hokage-sama believes there's something amiss and I'm to check it for him… but it seems you want to come along… am I right?"

The boy's smirk only grows as he is asked the question. "You know me so well Anko-sensei. He did seem to ask too many questions as we made our way here." Kaii states what he had learned on the road, thinking hard during a quick pause. "Come to think of it… When we were attacked by bandits, Taisuke somehow took far worse wounds then him… and I mean a frail old man even with the wounds he sustained should have broken a rib or two. Not just the scratches and cuts he had… which were shallow ones as well."

Anko digests what her genin has to say, fitting the pieces together in her head. "Hokage-sama must have been right then. An enemy shinobi infiltrated Konoha without anyone noticing, we better track him and see what he's up too. Those 'bodyguards' of his didn't seem like run of the mill village guards."

Kaii just nods and ready's himself to leave the roof at a moment's notice, as for Anko, she continues to think for a moment longer. That moment turns into a couple moments. Those couple into a few as Kaii becomes bored with waiting and taps her on the shoulder. She jolts to awareness, jabbing the genin in his gut for distracting her. Something he should have seen coming, as all shinobi know that bothering a shinobi in thought or one that's asleep usually leads to such an outcome.

He staggers for a second, winded as he catches a breath or two. "Anko-sensei… again was that necessary?" He waits for a second, finding Anko with a smirk of her own, he continues. "Nevermind, are you ready?"

"I am, but I'm trying to remember where I last saw them. Ah, sod it… we can just find them the usual way." Without so much as a 'let's go', Anko launches off of the roof in pure silence, landing on the next roof… and then the next as Kaii lags slightly behind. Only just catching her first leap.

The two cross the rooftops of the small village in the same silence they left the Inn in. Both focusing their tracking skills on their specific skill sets, Kaii his senses and Anko's ability to read the surroundings and find clues where most would find none. Together they work exceptionally well, even if one is only a genin. For around ten minutes they scour the Inn district of the village, leaving no stones unturned, yet they find nothing. No single clue. Content they have searched every inch of the district they make their way for the seediest district, simply named 'the red light' district. Even Kaii can tell why as they land on a rooftop as unclean as the acts going on in the streets below the two of them.

Anko is able to keep herself focused on the search, but Kaii loses focus as he looks to the street. The longer he stares the further away his Sensei gets from him, leaving him alone in the cesspool of a district. The streets are lined much like the Inn district, with a clean and obvious road with stands at both sides lining the road itself. Though in place of travellers and well-kept civilians, are whores dressed in as few clothes as possible with men groping and hanging onto them as if they were freshly cooked meat. The buildings seemed run down, but not quite dilapidated with the rooftops missing the majority of their tiles leaving the roofs exposed.

After a few more minutes of observing the acts below, Kaii snaps out of his trance and reactivates his senses. Realizing Anko didn't stop for him, he prioritises finding her again first. An easy task for him, as within a few seconds he finds her at the far end of the district, still. Which can only mean one thing, she has found a clue. With all of his muscles now tensed, he forms a few hand seals and in the next instance, he is now at his Sensei's side. Slightly nauseated from his under perfected and underutilised body flicker.

Feeling his presence Anko looks to her genin with her peripheral vision. "Kaii, I've found Genryu and his two _bodyguards_. They are in the tavern across the way, however, I have yet to actually see the Genryu we know. The man who I saw was addressed as such but he looked nothing like him, he was either old or infirm. In fact, I believe he's an enemy shinobi as Hokage-sama had theorized."

"If he is, what possible village could want a presence in such a small village?" A small pause is placed between his questions, allowing time to think on them himself. "What could they be doing here? Are they in fact hostile? None of it adds up."

Anko enters a deep thought again, she too confused by the turn of events. When she had left Konoha to follow Team 14 as instructed, she had thought she was doing nothing more than observing how Kaii reintegrated into the team. Though she was never asked to do as much, it seemed like something Hiruzen would have wanted. Yet, things never go as a shinobi expects and this is simply the most recent event that has her on edge. That and Kaii's increasing use of his 'true self', something he promised not to use.

The last thought is exiled from her mind as she crouches on the rooftop, looking through the windows of the tavern. Their position was far higher than the window and as such she could only see what was directly next to the window, nothing more. A couple of minutes pass as she continues to size up the tavern, while Kaii again waits patiently, but still growing bored of waiting for instructions. Seeing that Anko may, in fact, take a lot longer still, he checks each of the edges of the rooftop, trying to see if he could find anything to drop down into without being spotted by those in the street. Being at least four stories up gave he ample chance to peer over there edges with little worry, but at each side, there was no space to drop. Only another building lower down, or in the case of one of the edges, a building higher up.

The day begins to noticeably pass away before the two shinobi, with the streets becoming more hurried and filled with various bad elements. Kaii, seeing the streets now filled to the brim, decides to act. A simple set of hand seals later and a puff of chakra smoke covers his whole body. When he walks out of the smoke, his appearance is now that of a civilian, a rather dirty one at that. Something he thinks is perfect to help him enter the tavern without drawing attention. Content with his henge, he again peers over the edge that is opposite the tavern. Quickly analysing the movement of the crowd and the placement of those shady enough to be avoided, he prepares to drop.

A small space is created as a few drunks fools, each thinking the other has offended the next. Using the small scuffle Kaii falls silently to the floor, his speed masking his presence from the unaware civilians. Thinking his drop was perfect, he begins to move towards the tavern, pushing people out of the way as gently as he can. Trying as hard as he can not to use that much force, a hard task as the flow of the crowd threatens to knock him off his balance. Inch by inch he gets closer to the door, but as he's about to take the last step the crowd becomes rowdy and a rather unhappy drunk falls into him. The force of the fall sends the young genin through the front of the tavern, gaining the attention of all in the bar area as well as quieting it.

Thinking on his feet, he pushes himself up to look at the mass of drunks and rather uncouth patrons. "Fucking git's are rowdy tonight, eh?" His voice comes out far deeper and rough than normal, using the henge to its fullest.

For what seems like a lifetime, no one says a single word in response. After a few more seconds, one of the larger and drunker patrons at the bar begins to laugh, a deep belly laugh that resonates throughout the tavern. One by one the rest join in and the bar returns to life and everyone returns to their own businesses, bar the man who returned it to its previous state. He finishes his laughter by gesturing for Kaii to come over to him, which the genin does somewhat warily. Kaii thinks if anything were to go wrong Anko would act quick enough, and he was confident in his own abilities. However, if he can get by without them, it will preserve his cover and allow him to find the chakra signal he and Anko both felt.

Once at the front of the portly man, he finally speaks. "Not seen you 'round here befor' boy… but that's one way to make an entrance." He laughs again as he turns to the bartender, who instinctively starts to make a drink for the man.

Kaii laughs hesitantly at the man's observations, not too sure exactly how to deal with the man. On one hand, he could play along, but the second he asks a question he doesn't know the answer to he's on the back foot and in a place like this that's a death sentence. On the other hand, he could be polite and say he's here to meet someone. Not the best idea, but given the shadiness of the place, it could work. There's always someone meeting someone else and not up for much of a conversion outside of it.

Internally he makes a choice, be it for better or worse. "I'm new in town, came from Water County to meet an old friend… on that, you seen him?" The accent he uses gets progressively thicker and more like the ones from the rougher ends of the Land of Water. Lucky his attempt is met with a toothy, or toothless in the man's case, smile, happy with the story he's being spun. "He's an old guy, about sixty, bald and walks with a cane of sorts."

For a minute or two, the man looks like he's thinking hard, trying to think on all the people who pass through the doors to the tavern as he lazes in the same seat, day after day. Right as he's about to answer, the barman finishes his drink and places it in front of him. "Excuse me a second." Without so much as waiting for a response, he grabs the rather large glass, filled with a clear spirit, probably sake or another rice made liqueur. In the next instant, the drink is all gone, funnelled down his throat without so much as a slight cringe as the liquor rushes over his taste buds. "That hit the damned spot… now, that old git you mentioned. I've seen him in 'ere before. Some big guy in the village last I 'eard, Genta or Genzo… no, it was Gen something, but the names gone."

The glass slamming on the table is the last thing the man does, before he turns back to Kaii, looking at him as if waiting to see if he's on the right track. "Aye, that's him, Genryu. When'd you last see him?" Seeing as the man has information he could use, Kaii takes a seat next to him.

"Bout an hour ago, he came in and went upstairs, not seen 'im since. Must be asleep or some shit." The man chuckles to himself before again, making the same gesture to the barman he made before, as well as adding a second one. Though as to what the second one is, Kaii is left in the dark to. "What's ya poison boy?"

"A 'Land of Fire Whisky' will do me just fine." Kaii answers the man, realising the second gesture was to tell the bartender to wait. The man turns to the bartender and begins to the order.

For a split second Kaii takes his eyes off of the elderly man he's with and scouts the bar. The bar is filled quiet thoroughly but not to the point where all the tables are taken and any new customers would be forced to stand. Each table is the same dark stained oak tables with matching chairs, each covered in glasses of drink and occasionally some have plates with leftovers on them. The patrons themselves are all varying in looks and loudness, with the more rowdy ones all together across a few tables at the front of the tavern. The remaining patrons are rather quite, each discussing things in hushed tones.

As he is about to rest his sights back on the elder man again, out of his peripheral vision he spots one of the two shinobi who barred entry into the village. The larger of the two, Daichi Ryu, strides through the empty spaces between the tables having just descended from the stairs. Keeping him in his peripherals, Kaii finally looks back at the man he's with who, at this point slides across a small glass of brown liquid, which stops exactly in front of him on the bar.

"Let me tell you something boy… staring at others like that will get you killed." To the surprise of the genin the man has caught him, but before he can question him the man holds up his drink and toasts, pouring the shot down his gullet directly after. In the next instance, he slams the glass on the table.

Finding himself caught Kaii relents. "How did you know I was watching him?" with the question out of his maw, he picks up the small cup and smells the contents. Nothing but the usual smell of the whisky enters his nostrils, which is all he needed to know before he quickly downs the contents of the glass, placing the glass on the bar once emptied.

The man laughs heartily, again gesturing to the bartender for another drink. "Oh, boy, you must be a damned genin to think you were being so sneaky. The second you noticed 'em you became rigid, like a damned child when faced with a Jonin."

A quick sigh escapes Kaii's lips. He's not as good at infiltration as he thought, especially if some random man in a shady bar can spot him doing it so simply. "So, when I entered you knew exactly what I was doing?"

"Not exactly, just that you're using a rather well-made henge. At least for a genin." Another deep belly laugh escapes the man as he answers Kaii's queries. "Don't worry though, I don't care why you're here or what you intend to do." As soon as he finishes he forces a hand in his pocket and pulls out a number of bills, all of which he throws onto the bar top. The bartender places down one last glass for the man as he counts the ryo, content with the amount he bows to the man and leaves to attend to others. "See you around, boy."

With that, the man saunters out of the bar and disappears into the hustle and bustle of the 'red light' district. Slightly disappointed in the fact someone saw through his henge, Kaii turns in his seat, the behind of the bar now directly in front of him. To his surprise the wall that holds all of the booze in one giant mirror. How he didn't notice it right away makes him inwardly sigh, yet he again looks to scour the bar for Daichi Ryu.

 


	15. Chapter XV

Honkanai Village 21:07 | Sunday 22th April 13 aNb | Land of Fire  
  
The rather large Ryu wades through the occupied tables, eyeing one in particular. Sat there is his femme fatale partner, Kawa Akari, and one extremely mysterious figure. This is the man who takes the majority of his interest and as soon as he saw him, he pushes past through the tables at a far quicker pace. It doesn’t take long for him to get to the table and pull out one of the unoccupied chairs, situating himself next to Kawa and opposite the mysterious figure.   
  
“Is the elder dealt with?” The mysterious man questions, his voice empty of all emotions as he stares intently at the two shinobi.   
  
Ryu adjusts himself so that he is sat upright as he addresses the man. “Genryu-san has been escorted to the room as you asked, no one will know any difference and he’s been filled in on what ‘he’ did while he was away.”  
  
Upon hearing what the shinobi had to say, the corner of the man’s mouth peak before settling again. “Very good, Ryu-san. With that dealt with we can move onto the reason I had left.” Within moments after finishing he produces a small parcel, covered in a brown coloured paper with what looks like a note attached to the top of it. “This is what will fix the error you two have brought on this operation. It’s not illegal in this form, at least not here, so moving it will be easy. However, the note is what’s truly important… the recipe to make it into a far more desired product. That one is illegal here, so this time, move it quietly… or a particular man may desire to get involved.”  
  
Both shinobi tense instantly, though neither have actually met their apparent boss’s boss, the stories of him do a good job on filling in any gaps. He’s widely sought after as one of the few S-rank shinobi, as well as being eccentric, deeply dedicated to science and a fondness for learning every jutsu that has ever been created.   
  
In unison, both Ryu and Kawa bow their heads, quickly answering. “Yes, Yamazaki-sama.”  
  
“Now, take this to our base, I have to detail my report of the trip from Konoha and what I learned.” Not so much as a goodbye or obligatory puff of smoke, Yamazaki disappears from his seat at the table.  
  
With their superior now gone, they each release the breath they hadn't even realised they were holding in. Each now far less tense, Ryu waves an arm in the direction of the barman, before quickly guesting to him. The bartender nods and gets to work as Akari leans back in her chair, finally relaxing after a long day.   
  
“Jeez, we sell everything he asks and somehow we still don’t do good enough.” Her tone is that of a complaint, yet one she has often and so it seems more like whining to her partner. “What did he get anyway?”  
  
Ryu leans from his chair and grabs the brown package, looking it over before placing it back on the table. “It’s not that heavy must be a powder or something… ah well, it doesn't matter. We’ll take it back with us and figure out what it is after these drinks.”  
  
As the bartender places the drink onto a small circular table, next to each of the shinobi, a man at the bar stands and takes his leave of the place. Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the building across from the tavern, Anko stands ever vigilant in her constant staring at the aforementioned tavern. After a while of staring, her young genin appears at her side, his henge now gone as he waits for his sensei to notice his presence. Instead of the alternative, a punch in the gut or being planted into the roof.   
  
The moon reaches the pinnacle in its arc before Anko finally stops her intense glaring and looks to her genin. “So, what did you find?” Although she was lost in thought, she had still been watching as Kaii infiltrated the tavern.  
  
“Not much.” He scratches his head. “I saw the two from the gate, but they weren’t with Genryu… they were with a Yama-something or other. The bar was rather loud and even with my hearing enhanced I couldn’t hear everything, but I did hear that the two shinobi I already met will be leaving for their base in a minute or two.”  
  
Anko smiles as he finishes, a plan already present in her mind. “Well, let’s do as I trained you to do and follow them.” Her words are forced to carry to the young genin’s ears as Anko launches off of the roof before finishing her sentence.   
  
A quick sigh comes from Kaii as he follows, unsure why they left so soon, right behind his sensei as they leap from rooftop to rooftop. The tiles they land on feel soft as the two head southwards of the ‘red light’ district to the only other district left unvisited, the housing district. As they inch closer, there is a noticable difference again between the two districts. The rather shady ‘red light’ district buildings begin to mesh with the much cleaner buildings of the housing district. Each tile is soon replaced with wooden planks, half stone half wooden buildings replaced by those purely of wood.   
  
Next to change is the distinct smell and aura, now no longer filled with booze and sweat, instead, it’s filled with the smell of flowers and fresh food. Yet as much as Kaii can tell what has changed, he still finds himself at odds with why they left the last district, if anything, wouldn’t it be the perfect place for the ‘base’ he heard of. Though not one to argue with his sensei, especially since it’s Anko, he closes his eyes and begins to rely on his innate sensory abilities.   
  
The once dark village with a few lights scattered around to keep the roads bright enough are replaced with his senses. Each object is there but not the focuses of what he sees, that would be the little chakra signals he can see. Even civilians light up to him as he keeps close to Anko, but the lighter the signal the more chakra that person has. He searches for at least two minutes before he finds something out of the ordinary, two changra signals of considerable brightness, heading in the direction of a building with a few dimmer signals. Yet the signals are still brighter than it would be if they were civilians who have no unlocked the use of their chakra.   
  
Seeing this, Kaii speeds up, passing his sensei, only to stop on a rooftop about four or five rooftops away from the one he is wary of. Seeing this Anko stops deftly next to him, crouching as he had done when he landed. His eyes never leave the building as the two extremely bright signals land in front of the building and slowly enter it. He waits for a few more minutes before he opens his eyes and lets his senses return to normal.  
  
“Anko-sensei, I think I found the ‘base’ the two mentioned… it’s that building over there.” He points to the building that the two had entered. It is rather run down, with all of the windows boarded up and the rooftop missing a few planks, only to be replaced by a grey cloth. “They are not alone though, at least seven others are with them.”  
  
The Jonin thinks about what her genin has supplied her with. “The building doesn’t look that big form here, which means we’ll have little room to fight if it comes to it… and less room to hide in if we try and infiltrate.” She stops for a moment, before muttering something under her breath. “It can never be easy can it?”  
  
Even though she mumbled, Kaii heard her loud and clear and nods to the sentiment. “On the bright side Sensei, I don’t think any of them are sensors or they’d have found us by now… unless they want us to find them that is.” He starts off confident but soon remembers one of the first things Anko taught him about infiltration. Just because they might not do one thing, doesn't mean they can’t, they may simply want to act a certain way.  
  
“I’m glad you remember your lessons.” She smiles as she speaks, looking to Kaii for a moment before back to the building in the distance. “I hate to admit it, but I think with the numbers you’ve seen we may need Iku and the rest of your team. Unless you think they are weak enough?” The last few words when strung together sounded like a question to anyone who could’ve heard it, but Kaii knows his Sensei all too well. It was her way of forcing him to either admit his drawbacks or accept the consequences of his actions.   
  
Internally clicking his tongue he takes a deeper look at the building, his senses soon overtaking his vision. Unlike his first look, this time he scanes each chakra signal. Assessing to the best he can how strong they are by gauging how much chakra they have at their disposal, as a Jonin is likely to have more than a genin. Though even Kaii knows this is not the case. Even a Jonin can use little to achieve a lot, so he looks deeper at each individual, yet after a few minutes, his senses find nothing. For what reason, Kaii doesn’t know.   
  
“Iku-Sensei should be a the Inn with Kaneto and Taisuke, though I doubt she’ll be happy I left without telling her… or leaving a note.” He scratches the back of his head as he looks to Anko with an ‘oops’ look.  
  
As much as she tries to keep it internally, Anko runs a hand across her face and sighs. “Right, we’ll head their right away, no sense in keeping you from your punishment.” In an instant her annoyed look changes to a cheeky smile and she sets off for the Inn District.  
  
Kaii lingers for a moment, unsure if he’s truly made the right call. Leaving them alone allows them to continue whatever they are doing, yet it's also not his job to do anything about it. With one last look over the building, he finally looks away, letting chakra rush around his body before jumping after his sensei.   
  
The trip back to the Inn district is one of silent contemplation for both Jonin and Genin. The latter’s thoughts still on what he was just thinking of, his Sensei’s thoughts, however, are on what business a shinobi had inside of Konoha to leave in a henge and not by the same means they entered. Whatever that was, not that it matters to either at this point. After a few minutes, both arrive back on the rooftop they left on, with the indentation of Kaii’s outline still obvious to anyone who’d find it.   
  
Seeing his indention the young Rakuyama sighs internally, but soon stops and tenses every single muscle in his body. His eyes linger slightly on the spot, but in his peripheral vision, he sees shinobi sandals…. Konoha style shinobi sandals. With each second he looks up an inch, slowly tenseing more and soon becoming rather fearful. As the shinobi’s face comes into view, the woman’s slender and feminine face is riddled with anger. One of her eyebrows is arched and the other is twitching as Kaii laughs worriedly.   
  
“Iku-Sensei… I can explai-” He tries to defend himself, holding his hands up in front of him as some form of defence. Yet it’s not enough and before he can finish, he’s cut off.  
  
In the next moment, he’s held up in the air by the blond-haired Jonin. Her anger radiating off of her like a molten metal being smelted in the forges of Konoha’s smithies. “Where the hell did you go? I told you to remain in the room until we leave tomorrow.” Each word is accented by a slight spike in her own killing intent.  
  
Kaii tries to speak but in her anger, Iku is using more strength then she realises. This leaves the young genin with few little options, and being a shinobi he immediately reaches for his kusarigama on his back. Straining against the raw strength of his Sensei, he slowly puts his hand onto he shaft of the sickle and in the next instance uses all of his energy to both unsheath the weapon and arc it at Iku. Too busy ranting at him, Iku misses his movements and just as the blade of the kusarigama is about to land, Anko intervenes and grabs the shaft of the weapon. Barely stopping it from landing what could’ve been a fatal blow.  
  
“Iku-san put the boy down… he noticed my presence and confronted me, after which I took him with me on my mission.” Anko tactfully tells her Jonin comrade, looking the blond kunoichi dead in the eye.  
  
Iku relents and drops Kaii, who breathes heavily while trying to fill his lungs with fresh air. “Anko-san, what are you doing here then? What mission has you exactly where we are?” Though she is outwardly aggravated, inwardly Iku just takes a breath. Glad that she didn’t lose her genin like she spent most of the day believing.   
  
“You have a room… we can discuss it there. We don’t know if we were followed and, well, I need something to eat.” Anko reverts to her jovial self relatively easily, thinking about food as if nothing tense just happened at all.  
  
The eyebrow of the blond kunoichi begins to twitch at the casual turn of her comrade. “Fine, it's on the first floor, room three. We can ask the inn workers to bring you some food before we get to the room.”   
  
Anko smiles happily at the thought of food and is the first to slide over to the edge of the rooftop, dropping from it and landing in front of the inn. The other Jonin does the exact same nearly right after leaving Kaii on his arse on the roof with his kusarigama resting next to him. He picks himself up slowly, sheathing his weapon back onto his back and dusts off his clothes. His hand finds itself feeling around his neck, pondering on the act his Sensei had just committed. That she was so mad that she actually attacked him. A sigh comes last as he drops from the roof and lands where both his Sensei landed, turning swiftly before sliding open the inn door.  
  
Only one of the two inn receptionists are at the desk, but she pays no mind to the small genin as he slides past her towards the stairway. He takes his time, mulling over how Iku reacted to his lack of foresight when he found Anko, to what he learned from the hulking shinobi Ryu. Both leave a bitter taste in his mouth, but for completely different reasons. However, before he can really think on it, he bumps into his purple haired Sensei, who stood vigil at the top of the stairs. Seemingly waiting for her genin to catch up.  
  
Kaii’s expression to his Sensei’s prescnse tells Anko all she needs to know, so without any words exchanged, she walks off to the only room with an open door. After a short sigh, Kaii again catches up to his team and enters the room as soon as he gets to it. Closing the door softly, he slithers over to his bed and quickly sits down and crosses his legs. His head hung forward to avert his gaze from all present.   
  
Of the two Jonin, only Iku stares at the young Rakuyama as the rest in the room other than Anko, ponder on what has Iku so frustrated. “Right, now that we are alone, tell me why you are in Honkanai Village.” Her tone is far more rigid than usual and her body language would indicate the same, with her own twist to it.  
  
While Iku was asking her question, Anko had her eyes on a plate of Dango’s, freshly cooked and positioned right next to her. Yet before she can take one, the plate is dragged from her reach by her Jonin Comrade. “Hey! I was going to ask you… I just wanted to eat one first...” Seeing her friend's expression harden again, she sighs and leans back in her chair. “Alright, I’ll answer you first. Hokage-sama sent me after you, he suspected Genryu, or whatever his name was, to not be what he seemed.”  
  
“So, was he what he seemed?” Seeing a lack of progression, Iku asks the question to force clarification.   
  
“That he was not.” Anko smiles at the Jonin, a sadistic edge mixed with her jovial nature. “Not that it matters, the old sod slipped away, though we do have a lead.” She stops for a moment and eyes the plate of sweets, but for the second time she sighs and continues on. “The shinobi who blocked you at the entrance has a base here, which Kaii and I followed them too.”  
  
“What stopped you from dealing with them? It’s not like you to leave a prime target like this Anko...” Iku questions her friend's motives, speculating as to why in her head.   
  
“You’d be right, but unlike when I work alone, I had Kaii to worry about. Oh.” Anko clicks her fingers and jolts upright in her chair. “He also used his sensory abilities to find out how many were inside, and I left the choice of what to do to him.” She explains as she stands quickly and grabs the plate from the other side of the rather long table next to both her and the wall. “He chose to get you and the rest of his team before we infiltrated it.”  
  
Kaii perks up as Anko finishes, looking to her and then to Iku. “There are nine of them in total, the two we met at the gates included and are the strongest by far. Though I have no clue just how strong the others are.” He hangs his head back in thought as soon as he finishes.  
  
Both Jonin looks to one another and mentally converse, each thinking how to go about it. On one had, Anko and Iku could both left the genin in the Inn and deal with the issue themselves. As they are both well respected Jonin, it should prove overly complex to subdue that many enemies. However, they could all go to the building that the young Rakuyama mentioned. Though the Jonin would have to be more cautious, as Anko and Kaii both specialise in infiltration, thus giving them an edge as Iku and her team could wait and be there to help if things go awry. The only real issue is, is it there place to do anything about it?  
  
Now done with her thoughts Iku sighs and looks over the three genin in the room. With each one she lets her reassuring intent bathe them in its warmth before she finally speaks. “Kaneto, Taisuke and Kaii, I trust that you three are ready for this?” The Hyuga and Ishigaki both look to one another, finding resolve in the fact they will be by each other's side. Kaii picks up his head and nods, his seeming self-pity washed away by the reassuring intent. “Good. This is not what I had expected, but if it is linked to Genryu, then we are responsible for anything that comes of it.”  
  
The purpled haired Kunoichi wipes away the crumbs from around her mouth and adds to her comrade's speech. “This will be a hard fight, harder than the bandits you thought on the way here. These are shinobi, trained much like ourselves to be killers. They will not hesitate to end your life, you better be sure you can return the sentiment as you did with the bandits.”  
  
All three genin stand at once, checking themselves and readying their weapon, each with a renewed vigour. The Jonin smiled at the genin and one gestures for the three to come over to the table while the other pulls out five small wireless radios. Of all the tools at their disposal, this one will be the most potent, allowing each team to communicate with the other and keep the whole mission organized. Each device is slid to each shinobi stood around the table until they all place it on and tune it to the same frequency. Once done, Iku takes up a blank scroll from her pouch and unrolls it onto the table.  
  
“Right, Kaii, I need you to tells us anything you can remember about those two figures we met before. Kawa Akari and Daichi Ryu.” Upon finishing, she pulls out a small pencil from the same pouch and writes both names down at opposing sides of the scroll.  
  
For a few moments, the room is silent as all look to Kaii for anything to help against the shinobi. “Other than they are at least a Tokubetsu Jonin, nothing. They wore no weapons apart from a single katana either time I saw, but they show extreme confidence in their abilities even when in the face of you Iku-sensei.” He stops for a moment, again thinking as hard as he can. “I’m sorry, Iku-sensei, I can’t think of anything else.”  
  
The young Hyuga rolls his eyes at Kaii but before he can follow up, Iku smiles at her genin and speaks. “Don’t worry, we’ll have time when we get near to scout it out.” Done with the scroll she rolls it backup and places it and the pencil back into her pouch. “Right, this is how we are going to go at this. Anko and Kaii will infiltrate using their skills and radio anything of importance to us. The rest of us will wait as close as possible until we are needed, neither of us has trained as extensively in subterfuge as Anko and Kaii, so I expect you to do as you are told… Kaneto, I’m looking at you here.”  
  
Again the Hyuga tries to argue but finds himself cut off. “We should get going, we don’t want one of them to leave without us knowing.” Anko summerises, already halfway across the room to the window. “Kaii, we’ll leave first and after a few minutes you can follow Iku.” She finishes explained as she unlocks the small bolt on the window and slides it open.  
  
Before the Jonin can visually agree, Anko leaps through the window and onto a building across the way. Her young genin follows suit almost immediately, only sharing a quick glance with Iku before taking a running leap himself. The two make their way as fast as possible to the area in which the building was found, wasting no time at all. Each rooftop makes no sound as they land and sprint across the loose tiles and wooden planks. Not even the force exerted from their jumps create a single decibel. Civilians below are doing as they would on an evening, blissfully unaware that two shinobi are charging across their homes.   
  
Meanwhile, back in the Inn, Iku and the two remaining genin stand ready at the window, gazing out over the village. It’s perceived calm means little to any of them, it’s merely their newest battleground. The eldest of the trio stands alert, almost completely empty of any other thoughts other than the battle ahead. The genin, on the other hand, look around nervously, not that either would admit to it, but they both dont wish to experience the same internal turmoil as they did in their last fight. It has been barley three days since they both nearly died to bandits… but this is on an entirely different level. Shinobi are not just random killers, they are trained with the intent of being worth ten or more lesser men, to do as they are needed to do at whatever cost.  
  
Iku lets her hands rest on her two genin. Merely the presence of her hand helps the two find a sense of calm, washing the thoughts that could create a lapse in judgement or halt in action away. This battle is just as important to Iku as it is Kaneto and Taisuke, for she wants to prove she can protect them, unlike last time.  
  
With the stakes set for all three of them, the take their leave of the hotel room, leaping out of the window in an organized pace. Their sole focus the housing district and their allies well being. The air rustles through the hairs of the three shinobi as they find themselves arriving at the edge of the housing district, the journey short and simple with no one on patrol in such a small village. Iku takes point, kneeling at the edge of the district to look for the house Anko and Kaii informed her of, or the two themselves. Given the size of the district, they hold their position and decide to use the radio to see how far the others have gotten.  
  
“Anko… do you read me?” Iku holds a finger over a button on the ear bud she placed into her ear, releasing it once her message is finished.  
  
In all three of their wireless radio’s Anko’s voice rings through. “Yeah, I hear you. We’re just about to attempt to enter, so if you don't mind, keep the chatter to a minimum.” Anko’s patented sass comes through loud as clear as Iku sighs, simply choosing to leave their correspondence at that.  
  
“Right you two, soon we’ll be needed, and when we are we need to act without hesitation. You know the formation, so keep to it and we’ll all be fine.” Iku smiles to ease the nerves of the two under her command, though internally she struggles to keep her concern for Kaii in check. Whatever happened to him during the forest had never left her mind and it created a dozen questions she wants the answers to.  
  
The two genin nod and focus their attention ahead of them on the district as a whole, with Kaneto activating his Byakugan to enhance the distance they can scout. Meanwhile, Kaii and Anko find themselves perched on the rooftop one building over from the suspect base of the two rouge shinobi. Both baring arms ready for the infiltration to turn sour at any moment, Kaii with his kusarigama and Anko a lone kunai. A single nod is enough for the two of them to drop to the streets below them, the time to act upon them as Anko slides to the target buildings wall. Kaii joins her in time, but he cannot keep up, his senses flaring up momentarily then stopping for a few moments. Before he can do anything about it Anko had already slipped into the building undetected, or so he thought.  
  
Out of nowhere, the building combusts, sending Kaii through the wooden walls of the house in front of him. Shrapnel of wood and other materials launch from the explosion, most missing the young genin, while some find themselves implanted into his skin, lucky his partner remains unharmed but finally awake. Slivering down from the boy’s neck, Yuta reverts to his full size and skulls behind the still intact wall, his golden eyes on Kaii alone. Dazed, but still somewhat aware, Kaii pushes himself from the wall and joins Yuta in the darkness.  
  
With his partner safe, Yuta looks out of the house at the roaring inferno across the street, the building suspected of housing the two shinobi now completely gone. Along with any evidence of their existence, yet, something feels off to Kaii. He closes his eyes and lets his senses take over, but what he finds is not what he was looking for. Unable to react quick enough, the wall behind him shatters and a foot placed firmly on his back sends him upwards through the roof at a speed unthought of by the genin. No surfaces are able to take the force the boy flies at, each splintering and breaker upon impact as Kaii eventually escapes through the roof and lands square on his back after arching back down. To his front lands the well-built shinobi he’d been following, his katana drawn and his stance of a shinobi ready to fight until the death.   
  
Slowly and lethargically, Kaii pushes himself to his feet. The attack came so suddenly, his mind lags behind his actions, looking the shinobi in the eyes for a moment before snapping back to reality. Seeing weapons drawn, he instinctively reaches for his kusarigama, but quickly recalls dropping it as he was ambushed. His first choice unusable, he draws his tantos, entering his ‘X’ battle stance, keeping his eyes on the shinobi. For an instant, they enter a battle of the mind, goading one another to make the first move. Unable to wait, the shinobi lungs at Kaii, his blade poised to screw the boy in one lightning-fast strike.  
  
Parrying the blow, only slightly, Kaii rolls to safety, keeping his thoughts on the battle alone. Nothing can break his focus or he’ll end up close to death again. Unrelenting, the shinobi readies his weapon and falls upon the genin with amazing speed. Clearing the distance created by Kaii as if it was nothing to him. A short interchange of blows and parries, the two disengage, with Kaii entering the shadows created by the explosion, while the shinobi stands his ground.   
  
Kaii slinks about the shadows, seemingly evading the Shinobi while he does so. Meanwhile, from across the way, Iku and the two genin look on in complete shock, the explosion stunning them into inaction. That, as well as six missing-nin surrounding them,  leaves them little choice but to watch on. However, through Iku’s mind runs a mish-mash of ideas and plans to end their plight. None offer a safe course for her genin in action, but at the very least it would get them to safety if it succeeded.   
  
As Iku places the pieces together, another explosion thunders through the air. Her eardrums pound as the bass of the sound hits them. Instinctively she turns her attention to the cause of the fulmination, finding her dear friend, and fellow Jonin stood. A look of utter anger plastered over Anko’s face as she looks to a kunoichi, donning a slightly charred sleeveless haori. Similar to the one worn by the kunoichi who stopped Iku and her genin at the gate.   
  
A kunai still drawn, Anko slithers across the small gap between the two. Her free hand held slightly ahead of her to ward off any incoming attacks. Like a storm, as she moves closer to her target, she increases her speed. Soon enough she finds herself in a full sprint as she closes the distance. Just as she reaches her quarry, her opponent rolls out her reach, the kunai barely scraping past. Flipping to her feet, the kunoichi retaliates, her own weapon now brandished, her fists. Without missing a beat, she unleashes a volley of fists at Anko. The Jonin feints out the fight, appearing to the side of her enemy, kunai poised to strike. Seeing the step, the kunoichi contorts her body as chakra flows freely through her. For the second time, she barely stops the blade from piercing her skin.   
  
Anger is clear on the kunoichi’s face as she rights herself, only to find herself on the defensive. What had seemed like a mere lone strike was concealed by a simple distraction, the kunai. The real attack slithered out of Anko's coat arm, lunging at their target with wide maws and a lust for blood in their eyes. A look of shock fills the kunoichi’s eyes, keeping herself on the back foot as does all she can to dodge the incensed snakes. Ever advancing, the kunoichi finds herself losing space behind her to fall back to. With lightning fast though, she rolls to her side, breaking a few tiles from the force of her roll. However, what she had planned to achieve falls flat as the snakes and Anko move swifter. Meeting her within an instant of her dodge, Anko sends forth all of her snakes. Coiling around the kunoichi and otherwise ending the fight without further endangering her own genin and Iku’s.   
  
Each of the woman’s appendages finds a snake holding them in place, their maw’s poised to strike if she dares to move. Anko holds her gaze at her, looking deep into her soul while a look of deep hatred starts to subside. Nearly calm, a crushing sound gains her attention, her head snapping to the sound. Her vision fills with the image of Kaii deeply embedded in the wall of one of the nearby buildings. The boy struggles to gauge his surroundings, one eye shut and pain evident over his face. Slowly he pulls himself from the indent, falling towards the floor and finding his feet. Snapping his gaze to the direction he flew from, he sees the smug form of his opponent, katana held loosely in one hand, the other on his hip.  
  
“Fuck.” A subtle curse leaves Kaii’s lips as he opens his closed eye, pain radiating through him. All three of his weapons lost to him, he takes a second to think of how to move.   
  
However, he was not given long enough, the figure erases the distance between them and brings his katana to bear. Violent swings make up the shinobi’s primary means of attacks, leaving Kaii little room to manoeuvre. Yet it is enough for him to find a rhythm to the attacks. The pacing, the speed, the angle and most importantly, the reach. With them all in his mind, he steels himself, awaiting the next attack. Which comes exactly as when he expected. Pushing the blade aside with his hand, Kaii unleashes a barrage of his own, fits and feet accurately sent at the shinobi, most connecting, and forcing a slight retreat. A sick grin becomes obvious on the shinobi’s maw as he sheaths his blade.  
  
“The brat’s not half bad.” A chuckle fills the stale air as the two souls stair one another down. “I can see why the boss has you in his sights, though I still have more in me.” The shinobi slides into a taijutsu stance, one unrecognisable to Kaii. “Let’s ramp it up shall we?”  
  
Without a moment to respond, the shinobi sets the pace of the duel. Engaging the genin with a ferocity not felt by Kaii before. His attacks are brutal, each feeling like a tree had been responsible for them, yet they came quick. Far quicker than the bandits Kaii was forced to face not long ago. With his already showing wounds, Kaii does what he can to hold up to the onslaught, attempting parries, reposts and the occasional feint to try and escape the reckoning. None of them worked. Within minutes he starts to slow, allowing his defences to crumble under the wave upon wave of attacks. With his guard sufficiently lowered, the shinobi lands one final kick into Kaii’s midsection. The force sends him careening through the wall of the building behind him, and the one behind that. Still in the air after the second wall, he arcs back down to the ground, landing awkwardly and rolling a few meters before coming to a stop. Blood seeping from numerous places.   
  
Barely able to hold his head up, Kaii looks as the shinobi leaps from the building he exited, the grin nowhere to be seen. “Perhaps the boss was wrong about you.” Sliding his katana out of its sheath, he positions the tip over Kaii’s back and readies himself. “Konoha trash.” He brings the blade down and no sooner does it pierce the flesh of the boys back does a bright light fills the area, a flash bomb.  
  
  


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End file.
